To Belong to You
by RandomDarkness
Summary: A re-edit/rework of 'Belong to You'. No characters who died will live, and none who survived will die. Eric is still up to his eyeballs in Vampire politics and Sookie still comes up with a plan so ambitious that one way or another, will never be forgotten
1. Chapter 1

Sookie ran so hard her lungs burned. Sweat dripped from her forehead and the sound of her feet as they hit the pavement exploded in her ears. Still, she felt the sick certainty spread in her stomach that it wouldn't be enough... there was no way a human could out run a whole pack of were wolves. '_God, I am so dead'_, and not in a calm, peaceful way either._ Crap, crap, crap_! She didn't want to get torn apart by a pack of dogs. She didn't want to feel like a stupid bimbo because some stupid vampire dumped her, She didn't want to die knowing Bill Compton was the last man she ever slept with and now he was sleeping with someone else! She could feel them behind her and screamed with the effort as she gave it everything she had, convinced she was a heartbeat away from her spine being ripped, out when suddenly she was flying...

"Waah! What the," she saw bright yellow eyes and sharp, snapping teeth below her for only a second and then it seemed like they just fell away.

"Two fucking days, you can't be alone for two fucking days." Eric was above her. He held her securely around the waist and veered towards a nearby building. They landed none too gently on the roof, between two massive air-con units. "Two fucking days, Sookie, my world is falling apart around me and I'm flying to Jackson fast enough to pop my eardrums because you can't leave things the fuck alone!" He was paced and swore, and gesticulated wildly with his hands. "Damn it." He growled and took her by the shoulders. For a moment she was afraid he'd pitch her off the roof, but he patted her down for bite marks. "Are you hurt?"

"No... no, I... I'm fine." Her bottom lip trembled, it was all too much. It had been stupid to go to the werewolf bar, it had been stupid to think a vampire needed her to swoop in and save him. It was unbelievably stupid to stand on a roof with Eric Northman while he yelled at her and made her feel bad about everything. _God damn it why was it always him that swooped in and saved her at the last minute_?

"Do not cry." Eric grated between clenched teeth.

His order of course meant less than nothing and Sookie sat where she was and buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders heaved with massive, silent sobs. Eric huffed in irritation for a moment, then cursed under his breath and sat next to her. His arms snaked around her shoulders and he tugged her tight against his chest.

"Bill... called. He said... he said he didn' wanna be found. He said he was back with that... that woman and... an' at least he didn't have to worry about hurtin' her..." She sobbed helplessly against him.

Eric swore softly and stroked her hair. "Sookie... Please stop crying." He leaned forward and thunked his forehead against her temple gently. "I don't know what to do when you cry..." he confessed ruefully. "All I can think of is to kiss you, and that will just get me in more trouble."

Sookie managed a small laughed and shoved at his shoulder so pathetically that he didn't really believe she meant it, so he held on. "You're like a big walking boner," she grumbled, then sniffed and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"More like a big flying boner who just saved your life." He made a face and played with a lock of her hair, "what is this?"

"Oh... I got a make-over... so's I could fit in at the bar..."

"You look awful. You will wash this out, wont you?"

"Hey! What business is it of yours what I do with my hair?" She huffed and tried to struggle out of his arms, for real this time and Eric let her go.

"Well, consider how much time I spend looking at you, where as I imagine you look at yourself fairly little."

She opened her mouth to yell at him, holding up one pointy finger of doom, then closed it again and looked at him carefully. "What's wrong with you?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" He asked, taken aback by the sudden change in conversation.

"You look like shit, and you were nice to me for a full minute before you turned into an ass hole and you said before... somethin' about your world fallin' apart. What's goin' on?"

Eric sighed and flopped back, his head made a loud sound on the concrete roof. Sookie hurried to his side, afraid he'd cracked his skull, but he was just looking off into the night. "I've out smarted myself." He said softly, his eyes distant and sad. "Vampire politics are fraught at the best of times, and I thought I could keep the Queen under control." He sighed, "She's a child with a diminishing bank balance and an appetite for the truly expensive. Now, because of my own hubris... someone's going to die."

"Eric... talk to me, what does that mean?"

He smiled sarcastically, "Last fuck for a condemned man?"

"ERIC!" She kicked him, hard, in the side and he coughed but laughed at the same time. "Stop bein' an incredible tool and let me help you damn it!"

"As you wish... The Queen has been dealing in Vampire blood to make ends meet in a non-taxable fashion. I own the local vampire bar and there was no way to disobey her order so guess where this crap is coming from? Someone, probably Bill, has tipped the Magister who, as we speak, is holding Pam as collateral. I can't turn in the Queen, I'll be killed. If I confess myself, I'll be killed. If I run, Pam will die..."

"But..." Sookie felt her stomach sink hard.

"Pam..." Eric continued, "under torture, indicated to the Magister that Compton was responsible... I have two days to bring him evidence of such." He closed his eyes and hit his head back against the ground. "I could do that... God knows it'd be easy to make it stick, the Queen would back me if nothing else..." He opened his eyes and looked at Sookie, who stood over him, "but in doing so, I would lose you. Even now, after everything he's done to you..."

"You've gone a thousand years without a pet telepath Eric, why are you so convinced you need one now?" She backed away, step by step, but he was in front of her in a heartbeat, his steady hands on her shoulders.

"I don't," he looked down at her, confused and irritated with himself. "I can't stop thinking about you," he confessed quietly, almost ashamedly. "And now, right as Compton finally proves he's not worthy... I'm hoisted by my own petard. No matter what fucking happens you'll never,"

"Be yours?" She coughed, though the idea wasn't as repulsive as maybe she'd once thought it was, and the look of hurt on his face made her flinch.

"I was going to say 'chose me'." He let her go and dropped his arms. "If I wanted to own someone, that would be easy. I don't want you to belong to me Sookie," she tried to close herself off, willing him not to say something that'd make her melt, "At least, no more than I belong to you."

Fuck.

She believed him too. She was sure if she could just not be looking at his face, then she'd think clearly. She'd remember all those manipulative, creepy, evil things he'd ever said or done and she'd be able to see that he was lying... Unfortunately none of that could happen while she was looking at his face. He hadn't moved, which made her itchy and uncomfortable. He just stood there, looking at her, like everything that'd gone wrong in his life was her fault somehow and yet he still couldn't hate her.

"I'm fucked," he said softly, then chuckled cynically to himself. "Godric would never have been caught like this..."

Sookie didn't know what to say, or think, or do. She was acutely aware of the fact that she was standing on a rooftop skanked up to the nines with stupid dark hair and fake tattoo's. She remembered when Godric stepped down as Sheriff, how fired up Eric had been then. Fight this, he'd demanded, don't let the bureaucrats treat you like this. Somehow, between then and now, he'd stopped being fired up, he didn't believe himself to be unconquerable any more.

"I can fly you back to Bon Temps, you shouldn't stay in Jackson, not now." He turned around and offered him her back to climb on.

"I can't just climb on your back, not after... not... God Damn it Eric you're such a shit!" She stomped her foot, the tears welled up in her eyes again as Eric turned to look at her. "Of course I'm gonna help you. You know I was always gonna help you so don't even pretend you thought I'd let you hang." She wiped angrily at her eyes, "You're just... You come over all sweet and fragile and then, just when I start thinkin' you might not be a complete bastard, you blind-side me with somethin' dirty or nasty or you do somethin' underhanded and just... crap. You think I don't WANT to be able to trust you? You think it wouldn't be nice for me to have someone around I could actually count on. You always turn up, right when I need you, you save the day hoooraa and then you're all 'oh lets fuck now' or 'here's proof I'm a big dick head'."

"You don't survive a thousand years by being a 'S.N.A.G' Sookie... I can't change what I am. Every underhanded thing I've done, I did to protect you. Compton is a child, having him on your arm was the illusion of protection. I am hardly the oldest of my kind, and every Vampire with half a brain would want a telepath they could control. I _am_ sorry I hurt you, but you're to valuable and to much of a danger magnet to be allowed to run around on your own!" Eric stopped, inches from her face, the growl in his voice truly dis-quietening and Sookie took a step back. "You can't help me Sookie, you wont give Compton up, and I wont give up Pam."

"Well we'll give up someone else then," she said defiantly, her chin raised in a desperate attempt to hide how scared she was, how rattled. "You said yourself it wouldn't be that hard to frame someone, we just have to find someone who's a bigger ass than you."

"Are you actually suggesting you would help me set up an innocent person, to be executed in my place?" Eric's eyebrow nearly disappeared into his hair, surely not, he thought. He knew her better than that... surely?

"Course not!" Sookie exclaimed, "I'm suggestin' we frame a guilty someone."

"Who exactly did you have in mind?"

"Well... There are a couple of candidates I can think of off the top of my head." She checked off on her fingers, "There's the Fellowship of the Sun. I like the idea of them getting' in the shit, but at the same time I dunno if that'd backfire into more trouble. Then there's that werewolf pack down there. There was a vampire in there tonight handin' out his blood! They all drank it and... well they kinda went crazy, actually. Then there's whoever Bill's run off to work for... I mean, if Bill is the one who got you into trouble in the first place. I gotta tell you if that Vampire woman is behind all this, I might be able to find something to occupy myself with while you rip her arms off."

Eric laughed and scratched his forehead lightly, his eyes perplexed and impressed. "Do you contemplate this kind of thing often?"

"Course not! I'm a nice girl, I just... I don't..." She bit her bottom lip and twisted this way and that on her feet, desperate not to look at him and in the end she caved, stomped once more and put her hands on her hips, "I don't want you to die, alright! There, are you happy?"

"Hopeful..." He made to step towards her but she raised her hands.

"Don't. Just, don't. I am not swoonin' into your arms, I am not fallin' under your spell and I am _not _agreein' to sleep with you! I just... might not hate you. Completely. All the time." She stood firm.

"You're beautiful when you're denying me," Eric grinned, deeply relieved, more so than he might ever admit, that she was willing to help him. "Alright, first I'll need you to look at some pictures for me," he grinned at her shocked look, "not that kind. Although... later. We need to identify the vampire who's been supplying the wolves. This is not a new pack, you remember what I told you before?"

"About the NAZIS?"

"That's right. Same pack, so we can safely assume same vampire, or at the very least, same line of vampires. That means conspiracy, that means a big enough storm of shit that whatever the Magister might believe I've done, he'll be too busy to follow up on it. At least not until after I've had plenty of time to deal with whatever evidence might still be laying around." He smiled at her and held out his hand, "You really are an impressive woman."

Sookie glowed, she'd never been called that before. "You usually call me a 'human', is 'woman' better, or worse?" She asked archly.

"'Woman' is better than just about anything... except me, of course. Now, two day's is not long. How would you prefer to fly? I can put you on my back, carry you superman style, or you could wrap your arms and legs around me and..."

"Ok, Ok I get the picture... Umm... how fast do you go?" She looked a little worried.

"Fast. Much as I'd like your first time to be gentle, we don't have time. It will be fast, your hair _will_ get messed."

Sookie took a deep breath and then put on her brave face, "Don't take this the wrong way but I'm gonna say 'front pack', so I can keep my face out of the wind. And I'm kinda scared of swallowin' a bug... or fifty."

Eric said nothing, though he did smirk as he opened his arms for her to step into him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped a little, her legs wrapped around his hips. She ducked her head down so her cheek was against his chest and her face shielded by her body. "Ready?"

"You're smilin' aren't ya?" She said without bothering to look up.

"You find me a man who wouldn't smile in this situation..."

"Are you suggestin' you're normal?"

"Of course not, but lechery comes standard. You're a mind reader, you know that." He wrapped his arms around her more gently that she'd thought he would and gave her a little squeeze, "Look down."

Sookie popped her head out and saw that they were hovering over the building about three meter's up. "Oh my gosh..." she breathed.

Eric refrained from commenting. "We'll be going fast, hide your face again. Shouldn't take more than twenty minutes."

"Where are we goin'?"

"A safe house near Shreveport. Godric left it to me."

Sookie squeezed his neck gently. Strangely, though she'd only known him a day or two, Godric had made a huge impression on her. She often found herself remembering him sadly, and she felt robbed that she hadn't gotten the chance to know him better. Eric was both grateful for and irritated by her concern. She never looked down as the wind rushed past her ears. This whole flying business was totally unnatural and she was trembling violently by the time they landed.

In Eric's defence the landing was so light she didn't notice, she just clung on to his neck and pressed her face into his chest.

"Sookie, we're here." He said gently and smiled down when she looked up at him.

"Where is here?"

"One of Godric's houses. He's... he liked to travel, to watch people. If I looked into it I'd probably find he had a house almost everywhere."

"I'm really sorry Eric..." She let her legs drop and stepped back to look at the small, unassuming cottage. "It's lovely."

"I should have known he wasn't happy," Eric admitted softly, "the last five hundred years, he'd been getting less and less gregarious, less passionate. If I'd found you earlier, trusted you... I think you could have convinced him to stay..."

"Me? He hardly knew me at all!"

Eric laughed softly, "He thought you were sweet and courageous. There just wasn't enough time,"

Sookie reached out and gently took his hand. "We've got work to do. Come on." Eric nodded and led her to the front door.

"Everything we need should be here. With a small amount of computer fraud I should be able to access the images of every prominent vampire in North America. Let us hope he's one of them, it might take a very long time to identify him otherwise." Eric closed and locked the door behind them for all the good it'd do if any vampires showed up.

"Eric... does this all seem, well, kinda coincidental to you?" Sookie asked as she sat on a massive overstuffed couch which was covered in fur (which made it seem at any moment that it might get up and waddle away).

"What do you mean?"

"Well, just that you said the Queen was in financial trouble and then Bill gets kidnapped by werewolves that are bein' controlled by another vampire and at the same time you're bein' ratted out to the vampire cops... I dunno. It just all seems so convenient. Or, you know, such a pain in the ass to all be happening at once." She looked up at him, "Am I makin' any sense?"

"You're trying to suggest this may be some sort of plot?" He sat next to her and huffed out a breath. "Maybe. Besides the Queen I am the oldest vampire in this area, therefore the biggest threat seeing as she's... unstable. But why take Bill?" Eric stopped and looked at her carefully, "Unless they count you among my assets and hoped to remove you from the picture as well."

"But I can't read vampire minds, you all know that." She protested, "How could I be a threat to them?"

"It may be that they don't realise you can't read us." Eric said carefully, "Or it may simply be that like most vampire business these days, half of it is done during the day and that means by humans. We are most vulnerable when we sleep, and our business is most vulnerable while we're not the one's carrying it out."

"OK, that makes sense. Eric, with Bill gone... exactly how screwed am I?" Eric opened his mouth and his eyes twinkled but Sookie gave him a flat stare, "I mean it! This is my life too and if Bill's gone and dumped me flat I need to know how much shit I'm in!"

Eric sighed and lent back, his arms flopped over the back of the couch, "A lot." He said shortly. "But the truth of it is that Compton's protection was... traditional. Politeness among our kind would prevent random harassment but the reality is all someone would have to do to take you from him, is kill him. At two hundred years old, he is not what you'd call a great challenge for a power player."

"Could you have killed him?" She asked softly.

"Easily. But that wouldn't have gotten me anywhere... I told you. I don't want to control you, not like that."

"Well like what then?" She shifted away from him on the couch.

"I want you to scream in pleasure so loud that the neighbours stay up at night imagining what I'm doing to you. I want to watch you come apart in my hands until you can't move, can't think, can't argue with me." He leaned in closer and closer as he spoke, and Sookie's blood pressure went higher and higher the closer he got. "I suppose that's a kind of control... in fairness to me though, it's a kind of control I can only have by doing exactly what you want."


	2. Chapter 2

Sookie couldn't breathe properly. How could he still be horny in the middle of all this crap? He looked so predatory, so intense, yet Sookie's fear wasn't that he would force her... She was never scared of that. She was scared she'd give in. Give him everything he wanted, and end up feeling like a fool.

"Sookie," Jesus he purred her name. Purred it out of that massive chest. "Unfortunately we don't have the time for me to show you, right now, but in two days, when all this is finished..."

"I'm not agreeing to anything," she gasped as firmly as she could.

"No, but you're not slapping me either," he seemed amused and that irritated her more than anything.

"I am not just some floosy you can have your way with Eric Northman!"

"I would never suggest you were," he sat back and ran his fingers through his hair, then huffed out a breath he didn't need. "Assuming I'm not dead in three days, I will show you, Sookie."

"Stop talkin' like that. You're not going to die. And we wont let them kill Pam either. Come on," she slapped him on the knee and stood, "get those mugshots ready and I'll..." she stopped and frowned sadly.

"You'll what?"

"I was goin' to say I'd make coffee, but you don't drink it and if this was Godric's house there wouldn't be any here, would there?" She said.

"Check the kitchen, Godric liked visitors and was unfailingly polite. You'll probably find a little bit of everything in there, just in case." Eric's voice was subdued, the same way it always was when he spoke about his maker.

"I always feel cheated that I didn't get to know him better..." Sookie said softly. "He asked me to look after you, you know?"

Eric snorted a little laugh, "Is that why you're helping me now? Because you promised him?"

Sookie came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. Eric didn't turn, but he did tilt his head and raise his shoulder, gently trapping her hand against his cheek. "It would be enough. A promise to a good man. But no... that's not the only reason I'm here." She squeezed his shoulder a little and he released her hand and turned to lean over the back of the couch. He looked at her intensely.

"Why are you here? Your bleeding heart?"

"No." She frowned down at him. It was disconcerting, feeling like she was taller than him. "I know you're not that big an ass, when you stop tryin' to rile me up and upset me... you're not a bad guy." She didn't know how to make him understand... she wasn't even really sure she wanted him to. "You do all this stuff, say awful things and act like an ass, just to show everyone how strong you are. News flash Eric, I _know _how strong you are." She sighed, "You wanna show me, prove to me you're worth _my _time? Well I wanna show you that you're goin' about it all cockeyed. I don't wanna help your persona, and I don't wanna save you're macho bullshit. I wanna save you. The you that you are when you stop thinkin' about it."

Eric flashed back to his daydream of her the night before, how she'd touched his chest and kissed him, been honest and unafraid of him. She'd known things about him, thing's she couldn't have known, shouldn't have known... and he'd liked it. He'd wanted her to know about his childhood, he'd been awed and overwhelmed when he thought she could see his past, not violated and nervous as he thought he should be.

"It means nothing that I'm trying?"

Oh God when he made that face he almost looked like he was begging, like he really didn't know what to do. "It means everythin' that you're tryin'..." She said softly and resisted the urge to touch his face. "I'm here helpin' you aint I? Let's just get this done, everything else can wait."

"Only if I live..."

"Tell you what, if it looks like you're gonna die, I promise I'll kiss you." She smiled as the said it, but there was very real fear behind her eyes and Eric felt oddly gratified to see it there, but he still shook his head.

"If it looks like I am going to die, you will run. As hard and as fast as you can, do you understand?" He'd gotten up on his knee's on the couch, leaned far over and taken a hold of her neck in his huge cold hand and was looking at her intently. "You go to Dallas, Isabel owes you, she'd protect you as best she could. Do you understand me, Sookie?"

"Yes..." she breathed, the air of it ghosting over his lips like a kiss.

"Make your coffee, I'll get online and get you those pictures." He let her go reluctantly, but his eyes lingeed on her neck after his hand fell away.

"Okay," she didn't have the heart to argue with him anymore. What if he really did die? What would happen then? Bill wouldn't protect her, she'd honestly expected him to turn up when the werewolves were chasing her, he must have felt it. Not so much as a phone call. He'd abandoned her and now the only person who wouldn't abandon her might die in two days if they couldn't concoct some elaborate scheme to save his life.

"Don't stop arguing with me Sookie," Eric smiled as he got off the couch and headed for the study, "I love it when you argue."

Sookie blushed and made her coffee without further comment.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Sookie half stood and spilled hot coffee on herself making her swear, "Damn it, ouch. Fuck, that's him! That's him!" She brushed at her leg's angrily, these weren't even her clothes!

"Are you burnt?" Eric, reached out to touch her leg but pulled his hand back when she flinched.

"Oh... no. No, more shocked than anything... Eric, I'm sorry I didn't mean that. It was just a reflex," She bit her bottom lip not sure what to say. It was true, she hadn't meant to pull back, she didn't really think he was trying to cop a feel, he was worried about her and she'd basically spat on his concern.

"I can try to feel you up, if you prefer?" He said it lightly, but there was a distance on it, in his tone, that told her he was pulling himself away.

"Please don't do that..." he knew exactly which 'that' she meant and it had little to do with his hand on her leg. "I'm nervous OK, an' I don't know what to think anymore. Last week I... God forget last week, a few days ago I thought I was gonna get married to someone turns out was OK with abandonin' me at a moments notice! I'm sorry, I know I'm bein' difficult but in fairness I _am _difficult so if you can't handle it now you might as well jus' give up."

"Do you feel better now?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Little bit... Leg smarts some. I feel stupid... Anyway, that's him, there." She pointed at the computer screen. "Russell Edgington. You know him?"

"I know _of_ him." Eric nodded towards the door, "Down the corridor on the left you'll find a spare bedroom. You should see if you can find some clothing that fits. You already smelt like wolves and whisky, with the coffee added in you're positively fragrant. When you get back I'll explain how screwed we are."

"There are women's clothes here?" Sookie asked, surprised.

"Unlikely, but as there is no one here to impress I imagine a shirt and sweats would be more comfortable than... that." He gestured vaguely at her outfit.

"You really don't like me like this do you? Here I thought you'd love it, all stupid leather and skank."

"You're not one of _them_ Sookie, don't let anyone convince you otherwise. Go. Change... I am hoping that by glaring at his face while you are gone something will come to me." He kept his eyes pointedly turned away.

"Oh go on, you know you want too," Sookie said in exasperated amusement and laughed as Eric turned his more lecherous smile on her. "See, you play nice, an' sometimes you get a get out of jail free card." She said over her shoulder as she left the room.

Eric stared after her for a moment, convinced that women had not changed at all in a thousand years... and he still didn't really understand them. Not real women anyway, oh he understood the fawning, simpering head-cases who grovelled at his feet on a nightly basis looking for something to spice up their pointless lives, but they weren't women. He'd been completely confused by the feminist movement in America, suddenly it seemed to him, every woman in the country had completely forgotten that she was in control. In an attempt to be 'equal' they'd given up their right to dictate terms... now look where they were? Sookie wouldn't let him express to her how sexy she was. She wouldn't let him open doors or chastise her enemies.

Of course all that would have to wait right now anyway... As Eric stared at the face of the king of Mississippi he felt a sinking in his stomach. That bastard was looking at a takeover, and he had an army of hopped up werewolves itching to go crazy in the streets of Louisiana.

He could get the evidence all right, that wasn't the problem. The problem was going to be the full scale war that erupted when he did. He couldn't protect Sookie, and bring down the King at the same time. Shit.

"Godric must have really liked over-sized clothes, this thing is huge," Sookie was saying as she walked through the door wearing a comically over-sized black sweater and sweatpants that bulged and only stayed up because she'd tied the drawstring. Eric smiled, then coughed and tried to cover it. Sookie looked at him suspiciously. "What?"

"Those are not Godric's," he said keeping his voice carefully neutral. "Those are mine."

Without a word, Sookie turned to the right and donked her forehead against the door-jab. Eric chuckled softly and beckoned her over. "I can control myself... if only because we're in an incredible amount of shit."

"OK, start talking..."She looked at him seriously, "About the _problem_, Eric."

"Edgington is the King of Mississippi. A very powerful and very old vampire. If he's setting me up for a fall and he's poached Bill Compton then I would guess that you were right. He's priming for a take-over." He handed her the half full cup of coffee and she took it wordlessly and sat beside him. "With Pam and I out of the picture... there would be no one to coordinate a response. He could roll an army of juiced up werewolves into Louisiana and take the state by force. By the time anyone realised what was happening, he could say whatever he liked and his age and prestige would protect him."

"Why take Bill? Why would Bill agree to go?" She couldn't help but ask.

"To lure you out, perhaps? Make you follow, though that seems unlikely. He could just as easily have taken you, more so, really." Eric scratched his chin and leaned back in the chair, his face thoughtful. "He wants Bill for something... What do you know about what he was doing before he moved to Bon Temps?"

"Nothing really. He said that with the laws changin' he could take over the house again seein' as there were no living descendants. I..." She looked slightly ashamed and confused, "I don't really know anything about what he did after he died."

"That is not surprising..." Eric didn't really want to make her feel better about it, he wanted her to hate Bill Compton, not forgive him but out it came anyway, "He is young. Most vampires go through an... exuberant phase. He would not have wanted to show you such a dark part of himself."

"I didn't even ask... I never even noticed that I don't really know anything about him." She looked down into her coffee, "I hate feelin' stupid like this. My whole life I was so careful, avoidin' attachments, I'd just wind up hearin' somethin' upsettin' anyhow. I didn't even think it was weird not to know about him, how could I have not noticed that?"

"There is nothing for it now," He put a hand on her shoulder. "Survive today, and tomorrow, sort it out after that."

Sookie nodded and blinked back the tears that were threatening again. Bill had never lied to her or evaded questions about his past, she was sure, she'd just never asked any. Why hadn't she asked any? How could she not know where he lived before or what he did?

"What do we do now?"

"Our choices are limited." He confessed. "You are not a suitable witness for the Magister, but I could easily arrange for a few werewolves who were at that meeting to be presented. The Magister might be able to torture the truth out of them. The problem is Edgington, if he suspects he may simply enact his plan."

"Is that really that bad? What I mean is, wouldn't that be all the proof you need? Just get the Magister to be someplace where he'll see for himself what's going on, forget witnesses all together."

"Sookie... for that to happen, I'd have to actually let him invade Louisiana." He rocked on the chair slowly, shaking his head. "It's too risky. The first thing he'd do is come for you."

"Me? Why me?"

"We've discussed this. With Compton gone, we must assume your secret is compromised. When will you understand that you are the most valuable human on this continent as far as we're aware?" He turned her chair and forced her to face him. "Vampires are ruthless Sookie. We don't care about humans. It's all the worse for you because you can't be glamoured, that means to control you, he'll have to break you. And he will. With his own blood to restore you, he can all but kill you, as many times as it takes, but in the end you will do whatever he says. You're strong..." He put his hands on her shoulders and stared intently into her face, "too strong for your own good. But he has forever, and eventually... you will give in."

Sookie's eyes teared up and she trembled violently. "I'm scared..." she whispered, her throat dry and raspy.

"I will protect you, as best I can, but you must trust me."

"... I do. I know you will," A few silent tears trickled down her cheek but she raised her chin defiantly.

"Good girl." He tapped the tip of her nose lightly with one long, cold finger. "I should admit at this time that I have no idea how I'm going to do it though."

"Just like I said. We get the King to invade Louisiana,"

Eric sighed, "No, not like you said, that's dangerous and I can't protect you from a whole pack of werewolves!"

"Stop thinkin' like a vampire!" She scooted closer and started ticking things off on her fingers, a process Eric found fascinating as she seemed to actually think clearer when she did it. "One, you are not alone anymore. Call Isabel and spill your guts, tell her everything. She loved Godric and she owes me. You tell her to do whatever she has to, but get that TV vampire lady's attention and then get up here with as many vampires as she can. Two, I warn Bon Temps, those people have seen enough strange shit in the past year, they'll listen. If the King wants me, he'll have to come to Bon Temps to get me, and even if he doesn't it shouldn't be too hard to 'slip' that we know somethin's up. Get him to go early, like you said. And then three, when he arrives, we'll have enough live camera crew's there that he won' be able to find a channel in _Russia_ that don't have his face on it!" She said triumphantly. Eric watched in awe as she stood and started pacing, continuing to tick things off on her fingers. "Think about it, Eric. For Mississippi it'll be a PR nightmare and mean old TV Vamp-Lady is gonna make sure he gets tore a new one. Even better, You, Pam, our local Vamps and the nest from Dallas all over national TV _saving_ humans! After that, TV Vamp-Lady will _have_ to make sure you're left alone, you'll be her little PR darlin'!"

Eric blinked at her helplessly, "I think you're about to hit me." He said deceptively calmly.

"What?" Sookie stopped mid-step and stared at him. "Why?"

"That was the fucking sexiest thing I have ever seen." He was up, one arm around her waist, and pinned her to him. The other hand tangled in her unnaturally dark hair. He kissed her, hungrily and with wild abandon to the point that she wasn't even able to think about doing anything about it. "You are a fucking genius," he mumbled into her neck, his tone even more than the compliment making her shiver. "You can not put on a show like that, in front of me, and expect me not to want to fuck you."

"What show?" she gasped, "I'm wearin' baggy old sweats!"

Eric pulled back and held onto her shoulders. His eyes burned as he looked at her, "I don't care if you're covered in silver. That was genius,"

"You... you think I'm smart?" She stammered helplessly.

"You don't?"


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm... I'm just a waitress..."

"You, Sookie Stackhouse, have just single hand-idly come up with a plan to undermine a powerful, hostile Vampire's invasion." He nuzzled her under the ear and then nipped the lobe lightly. "Your plan simultaneously saves the lives of everyone you care about, _and_ increases the standing of two powerful vampire nests. Both of whom, when this is over, will be prepared to do just about anything you ask..." He made his way back to her mouth, while maneuvering her towards the wall. "You are so fucking spectacular..."

Sookie squeaked when her back hit the wall and Eric closed the gap between them, pinning her there. "Oh God..."

"Sookie," He groaned as his hips rolled forward and he heard her gasp, "I'll stop if you say so..."

"I know..." she swallowed hard and blinked up at him like a dear in the headlights. He would stop. He'd probably whine a little and make nasty comments, but he'd stop.

"What do you want?" His forehead leaned against hers and he closed his eyes. With deep, deliberate breaths he tryed to regain control of himself.

"Now, or when my brain comes back?" She quipped, her hands had somehow come to rest on his shoulders and she couldn't bring herself to push him away.

"Which one sees me fucking you now?" His laugh was slightly impish and she clutched at his jacket collar convulsively as the sound made her groan. "I want you...Christ, Sookie, you make me crazy."

"Don't hurt me," She breathed, gave in and pulled him closer.

Eric's eyes popped open and he cupped her face in his hands. "Never," his lips were fire and ice at the same time and Sookie whimpered into his mouth and pushed at him, getting just enough clearance to jump slightly. He took the hint and picked her up, her legs wrapped around his hips.

Sookie felt her back against the cool of the wall and arched herself against the the living marble in front of her. Everything narrowed down and came sharply into focus. There were no werewolves, no shape shifters, there weren't even any vampires. She was just being fucked against a wall by a Viking, right out of one of those old legends. He'd just come to life and was ravishing her. On some level, Eric was disappointed. Whether he'd admit it or not, (and he hadn't decided one way or the other yet) he'd wanted their first time together to be somewhat more romantic than a quickie against the wall. He'd thought candles, music, satin sheets, or even better, real fur! The reality was somewhat less prosaic that that didn't mean he was going to stop.

"Eric," she pushed at his jacket, trying to get it off his shoulders without breaking the kiss, which proved impossible.

"This is not exactly what I had in mind," his breath was heavy and Sookie was surprised at the idea that she might be affecting him as much as he was her. He fumbled with the drawstring, finally managing to dip his hand inside to touch her insistently with talented cold finger. "I wanted to take my time... make you scream..." he groaned as she gasped and arched herself against his hand. "I'm dead in two days if this plan doesn't work, and all I want to do is make you make that noise again."

"I should have known you'd be a talker," she gasped, gripping him tightly with her legs and thrusting herself against his hand.

"Next time I'll keep my mouth busy with something else..." His eyes widened somewhat when she wriggled and shoved her hands down between them, struggling with his belt and jeans. "Impatient...?"

"Strapped for time." her eyes flashed and Eric could have come in his pants. She was being playful with him!

"One day, very soon, I am going to fuck you from sunset to sunrise." He held her up against the wall so he could wriggle his jeans down and shuck her out of the sweats. "That's a promise." He growled, pulling her back against his body and pressing inside her in one smooth motion.

There was little for Sookie to do but hold on and try not to lose perspective. She was having sex with Eric... unexpected but wildly hot sex. But that's OK, its been a rough night, she shouldn't beat herself up over it. The problem was that he was nibbling at her neck and fondling her breast firmly while the motion of his hips made the rest of the world collapse.

In much the same way as he felt the uncomfortably common danger Sookie often found herself in, Eric felt her rapidly building orgasm like an barely contained explosion that threatened to buckle his knee's. He'd never actually shared a blood bond with someone he was fucking before and the experience was far more powerful than he'd imagined. He found himself panting against her neck, wishing desperately that she'd bite him, drink him into her until they exploded together. There, before his eyes, were the tiny tell tale signs that someone else had tasted her and the knowledge made him growl against her possessively.

"Eric... Eric," she groaned, tugged at his hair until he pulled his head back, eyes flashing and hungry, to look at her face. "He's not here... you are."

She wasn't thinking about him... she wasn't feeling his cold touch and imagining to herself that it was someone else... He'd never have said so but he had felt the twinges of concern, real doubt that it was him on her mind. How had she known?

The answer was simple, she had been thinking about him, just not as Eric had feared. She'd been thinking about his restraint, his insinuations that she was too fragile, his focus when they had made love which had seemed so unshakable. Eric wasn't focused, it was like he could hardly contain himself and wanted to do everything to her at once! He didn't seem to be holding back at all either, he growled and grunted and swore under his breath about how wild she drove him. She'd never driven Bill wild like this...

"I can feel you... inside my mind," he groaned and Sookie shuddered, not at all sure what that meant but the broken quality of his voice when he said it made her feel powerful and sexy. With one hand, he reached down between them and rubbed her, his demanding hands drove her over the edge. "Come for me," he growled, though the words were hardly out of his mouth before he groaned and bit down on his own bottom lip, breaking the skin as he spasmed through his own release.

Sookie felt sticky and sore and gross, and warm and sated and desperately desired. Eric still held her up, snugly sandwiched between his chest which was still covered by his black singlet and the wall. She didn't want to say anything... the only phrases in her brain were stupid and cliche, 'wow', 'you're amazing', 'oh my God', not to mention she wasn't entirely convinced he wasn't about to make her feel like a complete fool. The he shocked her...

"Are you alright," His voice was gentle, a low rumbling thunder heralding warm summer rain... One of his hands came up to cup her face, turn it towards him so he could kiss her tenderly.

"Nothing broken, Whoa, you're bleeding!" she looked apprehensively at the blood on his mouth and he pulled back.

"I didn't think you'd appreciate being bitten..." he wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I probably wouldn't have cared... till right about now," She confessed, wincing slightly as he slipped from her body and his arms carefully lowered her till her feet touched the ground. She looked around, not sure where her eyes were meant to settle. Luckily for her the over-sized sweatshirt more or less covered her, but Eric seemed completely indifferent to his state of undress.

"I'll take that as a compliment," He smiled down at her. He was still leaning against her body, keeping her pinned her to the wall and he caressed the side of her face with his fingertips.

"Is it always this awkward?" She blurted suddenly.

Eric looked at her curiously. "Awkward?"

"Having sex with someone for the first time. I've only ever slept with two people and... well it just seems like after the first time I don't know where to look, I dunno what to say, I'm sure somehow I've made a fool of myself and any minute now it'll turn out everyone I've ever known was watchin' and I'm a social outcast and..."

"Sookie..." he stopped her with a finger over her lips. "You look anywhere you like. If you're interested enough to look, I am certainly vain enough to let you. Then, traditionally, as a beautiful young woman, you baby my poor, fragile ego by telling me how amazing I was." He grinned impishly and kissed her forehead. "How talented I am," fingers in her hair held her still while he kissed her nose. "How sexy you think I am," a longer, more lingering kiss to her lips with just a hint of tongue. "And finally how spectacularly large I am compared to your last boyfriend." She had to laugh, what else was there to do? "Or, alternatively you can laugh at my humble suggestions and shatter me completely."

"Eric... This was a really stupid thing for me to have done..."

"Care to explain that?"

"What's to explain?" She reached up and took his hand, holding it away from her face, but holding it all the same. "You sit on a throne and have beautiful women throw themselves at you every night."

Eric grinned, "Are you being possessive of me now, lover?"

"That'd be pretty stupid of me, huh?" she was clamping up, pulling back and he didn't like it one bit.

"Isn't that part of belonging to someone? Accepting that they get sole rights to your... person." He took hold of her chin gently, "I _am_ capable of being loyal to you..."

"But will you be?"

"If you ask me to, and if you will shun others and favour only me." He looked at her carefully. "Doesn't that seem fair? After all, I can't very well sit all night on my throne waiting for you, only to have you choose someone else. You forget, it is my heart being risked here." When she gave him a disbelieving look he stroked her hair and sighed. "I have no doubt that when all this is over, Bill Compton is going to come back and attempt some kind of explanation to you... I am the one who will be alone should you accept him back. You have no rival for my affection."

"You're trying to tell me every single person in Fangtasia every night isn't begging to get your pants off?" she scoffed, desperate to turn the conversation away from herself.

"Perhaps. I neither know, nor care. You _do _care about Bill."

She had to admit, when he'd said that Bill might come back, that he might somehow explain everything, she'd felt a thrill of excitement at the possibility. Now, looking at him, she felt dirty for it.

"I know Bill can get to a phone... I know he could contact me if he wanted too. I know that he must have known I was in danger in Jackson. Even if he couldn't come get me, he could have called, even just called and hung up, just to know I was alright. But he hasn't..." She sighed and thunked her head back against the wall. "I don' know what this is, with you an me, but I'm not goin' back to Bill. Not now."

"Then I will be yours, without reservation."


	4. Chapter 4

Eric was on the phone to Isabel. It had taken all the eloquence at Sookie's disposal to convince him that it was really best if he put his pants back on. That man was incorrigible. Sookie was quite convinced that he'd have kept her naked and on the edge of insanity for the next two days and then tried to run the biggest con in vampire history all in the last five minutes! To say she was conflicted would be the understatement of the year... She watched him pace back and forth, explaining everything to Isabel, leaving nothing out. Much to her embarrassment that included telling her Sookie was with him and wearing his clothes. At least he didn't elaborate.

Somewhere in the middle she had gotten the impression that Eric was being sworn at for getting caught up in all this crap, for not telling Godric at the very beginning and getting help, for leaving everything to the last minute. Eric took her abuse calmly and then said "I'll give you to Sookie," and shoved the phone at her.

"Wha..? Oh Umm.. Hi, Isabel."

"Sookie? Good God woman, you must control him. Put a leash on him, lock him up, anything." Isabel's voice stopped and Sookie could hear her taking a breath. "I am sorry. This is... a problem."

"I know, I know but there's no time to get pissed about it now. We can spank him later."

Eric's face lit up and he waggled his eyebrows at her. "He's making a face now isn't he?" Isabel asked down the phone.

"Yeah... As for controlin' him... well you've seen him what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"What women have been doing for thousands of years. Press your knees together and tell him the only way to prise them open is to behave!" Isabel said, and Sookie could almost see her grinning.

"Isabel! I'm not... I mean... we're not... not really and I..."

"Calm down, Sookie. I shouldn't have teased you, don't worry about Eric. Your plan will work well, I am very impressed with you. I will have my entire nest in Louisiana by sunset tomorrow, I've also taken the liberty of e-mailing a number of reporters I know while we've been talking... they've been suitably alerted. It is you we are most concerned about now..."

"Me? Why?"

Isabel sighed, "because Bill knows all about your gift, and he is in Mississippi with the King, which means the King knows all about your gift. Sookie, send Eric out of the room, I need to speak to you in private..."

Sookie covered the phone, "Isabel wants to talk to me alone for a minute..."

"And?"

"And that means you have to be some place else." She said firmly. Eric just looked at her flatly. Sookie returned his glare. "If you can't handle giving me five minutes on the phone with a woman then you're a big insecure jerk!"

Eric shrugged. "I'm OK with that."

"Eric! Please," she sighed and looked forlornly into her empty coffee cup. She could really have used a bucket full. "Pleease Eric, would you make me a coffee?"

Eric's flat look continued for a minute, then he sighed and held out his hand. "Give me the mug."

"Ohhh thank you thank you thank you!" She gleefully tossed him the mug. "OK, caffeine is on the way and the Viking is in the kitchen."

"You did that very well," Isabel's voice said.

"He's a total freak. He'll happily service my every whim, but he doesn't want to give me five minutes to talk on the phone."

"He is a man. They're all like that. They expect our worlds to revolve around them because their's revolve around us. Sookie, I must ask you something very important about Bill. I know you may not want to answer, but know I do not ask lightly..."

"OK..." Sookie bit her bottom lip.

"You have shared blood with him... he has tasted you, and you him... Sookie, can you feel him now? Do you feel like you know where he is?"

"No... not that I can tell... why?"

"Try it now, please. If you were to transfer enough blood between you... a kind of... a kind of bond can form. You would be able to find him, much like he can find you. This can have great advantages, especially for the vampire, if you have established this bond he may be able to... influence you."

"Influence..." Sookie breathed softly, "Like a glamour?"

"More subtle than that, at least in the beginning. But it could make you a liability at a crucial moment if he can reach you in such a way. Please. Try to find him, now, with your mind."

"OK.. OK hold on." Sookie closed her eyes and reached out as best she could. She found the neighbours who, embarrassingly had heard her and Eric earlier, she found some people on their way to work, but no hint of Bill. "I don't think so... nothin' seems different."

"Thank you, Sookie. I know this was not pleasant for you. For what it is worth, Eric will look after you."

"I know he will. We'll see you all tomorrow night."

"Goodnight Sookie."

As the line went dead, Eric returned with her coffee. She shouldn't have been surprised that he'd made it the way she liked without asking her, but she was. Eric just tapped his nose with one finger, "My nose works quite well."

"Ah... you heard at least half of that, I'm sure..."

Eric smiled acknowledgement and nodded. "I would have had to go farther than the kitchen not to hear you... You are still free I take it?"

"Looks like it... I didn't know y'all could do that." She held her coffee between her hands and looked down into it sadly. "Seems like I didn't know a lot of things. How could he not tell me that? That I could be losing myself..."

"Would you have continued to allow him to drink from you if he had?"

"Well I... no." She looked up at him, "Maybe. Maybe if he'd told me... now I just feel like... like maybe he was trying to take control of me from the inside out and I didn't even see it."

"What has happened can never be undone, Sookie. Three days from now well will all have the time to... assess, our situation." He sank down onto the couch next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, using his free hand to push her dark hair back. "He may never have wanted to control you, or it may have been his plan. He may be manipulative, or simply stupid... When you know which, then you can decide how you feel about it."

"He should have told me..."

"Yes, perhaps he should." Eric yawned like a lion and shook his head slightly to clear it. "Dawn is coming."

"You should go get some sleep. I've got a lot of phone calls to make and, damn it, we don't have a car, you flew me here." She snapped her fingers and huffed.

"Where were you planning to go?" Eric was frowning, he didn't want her running around out there with Wolves looking for her.

"I have to go to Bon Temps! I have to get everyone organised. These are little town people Eric, a phone call might get them all in one place, but I can't throw them into this without explainin' things to them!"

"I do not like the idea of you running around unprotected," his arm tightened a little around her shoulders, "I don't want to wake up and find that something happened to you while I was sleeping..."

"I can't get this to happen if I don't go... everything has to be so tightly organised Eric, you know that. If they panic, this could turn into a real massacre!" She reached up and squeezed the hand that hung over her shoulder. "I'll be fine. I'll go get Sam first, he'll stay with me."

"Joy of joys... your shifter boss who loves you..." Eric frowned.

"Now who's bein' possessive?"

"I want to give you something to take with you," Eric stood and left the room, returning with a strange little pewter bottle on a necklace. "Hold this please." He handed it to her after taking off the little screw top lid, then, before she could say anything, he nicked his wrist and filled the little bottle to the brim with his blood.

"What the hell?" Sookie gasped, almost dropping the bottle, but Eric's hand shot out and held it steady.

"Take it, wear it around your neck. Do not lose it and for my sake do _not_ let anyone catch you with it."

"But... what do I do with it?" She screwed the lid on and put it around her neck.

"You drink it. If you need too. It will make you stronger and faster, it should also be enough to make it easier for me to find you..." he took her hands in his and pressed his forehead against hers. "It is the best I can do for you during the day..."

"Thank you... I wont need it, but thank you." She didn't know what they were meant to do now. Did she kiss him? Would he kiss her? Were they together? Did she even want to be? He'd said he belonged to her, and something about that seemed significantly not flippant... "With a little luck I can be back here before you wake up. I'll call a taxi and..."

"Take the SUV in the garage," He said, opening his eyes but not pulling back. "The keys will be hanging up in the kitchen. Sookie..." he breathed her name against her lips and then closed the distance to kiss her.

It's the most natural thing in the world to sink, all trusting and languid, into a kiss, and Sookie couldn't seem to help it. She slipped her arms around his neck and let him pull her tighter against his chest. "I will find you, when I wake," he said against her lips.

"Eric... what are we doing?" she played nervously with the collar of his jacket.

"We're kissing, lover. I hope to do it again soon."

Sookie giggled and ducked in closer, her cheek came to rest against his shoulder and she let him hold her there. "This is madness..."

"Indeed. But no more than the madness I felt for Freya, a chieftains daughter when I was thirteen. It's always insane to trust your heart to someone else..."

Sookie's knuckles where white on the steering wheel, she felt guilty for sweating on the leather. This car probably cost more than her house! A dozen times already she'd had to tell herself firmly to ease up on the gas, if she got pulled over she'd hyperventilate and it'd all go down hill from there. She ran over the plan again in her head. First stop, go get Sam. Eric had been pretty insistent about that, though she could tell he hated the idea.

It was funny, watching his face battle with itself; on the one hand needing to keep her safe and on the other not really wanting anything with a penis anywhere near her. What sent her mind reeling most was how quickly it had gotten like this. Didn't she hate him this time yesterday? If someone would have asked, she'd have said so... only it wasn't quite true. He'd come to warn her about the werewolves, he'd organised someone to protect her. She remembered asking shyly if he'd know when she was in danger, and the comfort it'd given her to know he would. For some reason it'd never occurred to her to ask if he'd come, instead she asked how long it would take and neither of them had noticed that she expected him to.

In the glove compartment of the car she'd found a tiny leather bag with a set of wooden rosary beads in it. They were wrapped around her left hand, and the indents they made in her palm were oddly comforting. Godric's rosary, who'd have thought a vampire would even have such a thing? She wished he were alive, she bet he could have solved everything. She shook her head and started the list again. Get Sam. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars, go directly to Sam... then have a shower!

She'd called him before she left and given him some cryptic line about meeting her at the bar. How the hell do you explain something like this? He was there, in the car park, sitting on the bumper of his Ute.

"Sookie! What's goin' on? What happened in Jackson? What happened to your hair?"

"Walk now, talk on the way. Can I use your shower? I don't wanna go back to my place." She asked moving past him.

"Wha...? Um, yeah, sure, course. Sookie, wait up!" He hurried after her.

"

"You want the short version first?" She asked as she trotted up his stairs.

"Sure, why not."

"OK, turns out Bill has a _lot_ of explaining to do and he might actually be a bit of an ass hole." She rolled her eyes when he gave her a flat 'I told you so Cher' look. "That doesn't matter now. Long story short, in two days there is going to be a huge Vampire showdown for Louisiana. I've got reinforcements comin' in from Dallas and Eric's goin' to call out whatever he can get his hands on here, but we've gotta get a town meetin' organised by this afternoon." She turned and looked at him, a fierce kind of fire behind her eyes. "The Vampire King of Mississippi is going to flood this town with werewolves hopped up on Vampire blood and we have to be ready."

Poor Sam opened and closed his mouth a few times and blinked foolishly. "What the hell happened to you in Jackson...?"

"A lot of stuff, stupid mental stuff, but I don't have any time to think about it until we get this done. Sam, I need your help. If we don't get the people in this town ready, we're gonna have a real blood bath."

Sam could only nod, "OK... alright. What do you want me to do?"

Sookie's eyes widened and for half a second her lower lip trembled at the absolute trust he placed in her. She darted forward and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Thank you Sam! Call Andy and get him over here. He'll be able to get most everyone together. We're gonna want to get the kid's and old people out of town by tomorrow morning to make sure they're safe, that means we gotta move."

"OK, I'll get Andy, I'll call Jason too, he'll wanna be here with you."

"Shit," Sookie hissed, "I hadn't thought of that. Alright, I just... I have to approach him careful, he's gone a bit mad over protective lately."

"He loves you," Sam reached up and pushed some of her hair back off her face gently, "We all do."

"Thank you... OK, go, call. I've got nasty skank hair and fake tattoo's all over me and I really wanna get 'em off before I see everyone."

"Fake tat... Sookie what the hell happened?"

"Phone calls Sam!" She closed the bathroom door and locked it behind her, smiling slightly at Sam's soft cursing on the other side of the door.

It took ten minutes of solid shampooing to get the damn colour out and Sookie came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. She smiled when she saw Sam sitting and the breakfast bar. "Temporary my ass." She grunted in irritation, "I'm sure my hair is still darker than it was. I don't think I like the cut either."

"I don't think I've got any clothes around here that'll fit you cher." Sam managed to say.

"Oh sorry, I meant to ask you to run over to the bar. I'm pretty sure I've got a spare pair of shorts there, and... could I borrow a shirt? Don't have to look good, just needs to cover everything." She smiled sheepishly.

"Sure, no worries. Andy's on his way and Jason should be here soon. He was at work but he said he could leave Hoyt in charge for a while, long as he gave him real precise instructions."

"I really wish everyone would stop pickin' on Hoyt!"Sookie frowned, "he's the sweetest man in the world. Oh shit, Jessica!"

"What about her? Oh, I gave her a shift at the bar, she's pretty good when she's not snarlin' at the customers. I'll be right back with your pants..." He ducked out the door and Sookie could only smile after him. She felt bad in a lot of ways that her and Sam hadn't worked out... He was one of the most reliable people she knew and he'd always been there for her.

Andy and Jason pulled into the car park one right after the other and Sookie stood from Sam's top step wearing her denim shorts and one of Sam's old flannel shirts.

"Hey Sookie, what's goin' on?" Jason hugged her tightly.

"Big trouble, come inside you guys, Sam, you might wanna get everyone a drink..."

Inside, around Sam's breakfast bar, Sookie unfolded for them the full scale of the shit storm that was rapidly approaching. Jason's eyes got progressively wider and poor Andy looked like he might be a little sick, but he held it together.

"So, by tomorrow night we need to have gotten everyone out of town who's goin' and organised everyone else. The Dallas nest will be here tonight sometime to help and Eric's calling in everyone he can trust... This is _it _gentleman. This is _our_ town and however we might feel about the Vampires we've got, I think we can agree that someone who's happy to _invade_ will not be an improvement." She watched them carefully as they digested this as best they could.

"I trust you Sook, tell me what you want me to do," Jason said at last, though some of the colour had drained from his face.

"How'r you doin' there Andy?" Sookie asked him gently.

"I wish I hadn't quit drinkin'." He mumbled. "Alright. Can I use your phone, Sam? I'll get the deputy's spreadin' the word. Town meetin' this evenin'... first I need to call Terry."

"Terry? Is that a good idea?" Sam asked carefully, "He gets nervous when the bar gets crowded."

"He's been doin' a bit better lately and... he _is_ a trained soldier. We want to pull this off, I think he can help." Everyone was nodding.

"Alright, get Terry here, we'll talk to him first. Can anyone think of anythin' else?" Sookie asked.

Jason timidly raised his hand, and Sookie looked at him. "Sook... why'r they commin' _here_? I mean... Louisiana ain't exactly small, why does all this shit come _here_?"

Sookie sighed, she'd kinda been hoping no one would ask that, at least not until afterwards. "Because of me... because... it looks like Bill might have... have told them about me an'... they want me, and they'll go through anyone they have too to get me..."

Three men looked at her carefully, each considered asking the stupid question and each, in his turn, didn't bother. They all knew what Sookie could do, even Andy, though he'd never said it out loud before.

"I'd leave but... but they'll just come anyway an'... if I leave I can't help you." Tears came to her eyes as she looked at them.

Jason and Sam moved to comfort her, each taking a hand while Andy just shook his head. "We wont give you up for no one Sookie. You know that." Sam said gently.

"Ain't no stinkin' Mississippi vampire takin' my sister," Jason agreed. They all looked at Andy...

"You are a weird, disconcertin' woman, Stackhouse..." Andy said, then he reached for the shot Sam had poured him and knocked it back. "But you're _our_ weird, disconcertin' woman. Let 'em come."

Sookie started to sob in gratitude and Jason wrapped her up in his arms and shushed her softly. "It'll be alright, Sook. You'll see. Hey, ah... Sookie?"

"Mmm?"

"Is that ah, Isabel commin'? You know, from Dallas?" He asked trying unsuccessfully not to look obvious.

"Jason Stackhouse! Are you usin' the siege of our town to hook up with a woman?" Andy demanded.

"No! I jus'..." He looked at them all helplessly. "What? She was nice!"

Andy shook his head, but he was still smiling. Sam hid his grin behind his hand and Sookie couldn't help feeling that everything would be alright. In two days time, Jason would still be chasin' women, Sam would still be lookin' after the bar and Andy would have another story he'll never be able to write up in any report.

"I'll call Terry, then we'll wanna start movin' through the families with kids. Gotta organise some place for 'em to go while this goes down." Andy said.

"I'll get Eric to find somewhere safe for 'em."

"We're trustin' him now?" Sam asked carefully.

"He has as much to lose here as we do..." She told him, she'd left out the part about her and Eric, and the part about Eric's little political issues. "I've rigged it so there'll be camera crews arrivin' in time to get everything. Eric and Isabel get to be the head's of nests who fought to protect a human town. Good for vamp PR, and we get an army to fight the werewolves."

"An' you came up with this?" Andy asked.

"Well... yeah."

"You want a job? Anyone who can bullshit this amount of cooperation out of everybody must be a freakin' genius."

Sookie blushed.


	5. Chapter 5

Terry stroked Arlene's hair gently. "You can't stay here, baby, you gotta go with the kids."

"I'm not leavin' you here! I will not!" She half shrieked.

"Now Arlene..."

"Don't you 'now Arlene' me, God damn it! No! I jus' found you, I just found a decent man, the last one left in this bull shit, hick town. I am not leavin' you here to get 'et! I wont!" She was crying. He hated it when she cried.

"Arlene, who all'll look after the kids?"

"Their teacher can watch 'em, I'm stayin' here with you!" She said unreasonably.

Terry sighed, he'd really hoped he wouldn't have to do this... he'd hoped she'd listen, that she'd see reason but it didn't look like that was going to happen any time soon.

"If you stay here you might well kill our baby!" He said sternly. Arlene's eyes widened in horror and her hand flew to her mouth. "You gotta go baby... you don't got no choice."

"You can't leave me Terry... please. Please, dear God please, don't leave me..." She sobbed against his shoulder and he gathered her up gently against his chest. "I love you..."

"I love you too, baby girl. I'll be careful, I promise. I ain't never had nothin' to come back to before..." He kissed her, his fingers tangled in her hair and Arlene clung to him desperately. "Kiss the kid's for me," he whispered against her hair, and just like that he was gone, crouched in the back of Sam Merlott's Ute as it accelerated away up the street.

Arlene stood on the driveway and cried for along time before she turned and hurried back into the house. "Kid's! Pack a bag each, quick! We're goin' on a little vacation!" she called with as much fake excitement as she could manage.

He would be fine. He would come back. In two days time he'd kiss the kid's and touch her face and say somethin' stupid and everything would be OK. It would. It had to be.

Terry jumped down from the back of the Ute as Sam and Sookie climbed out of the cab. "How many are here?" She asked Andy who hurried across the school car park to meet them.

"Pretty much everyone, I've packed up the two school buses already so's anyone without a car can hitch a ride one them."

"Andy, that was a brilliant idea!" Sookie beamed at him and Andy shrugged a little self-consciously, though he admitted to himself it felt good to have someone praise something he'd done.

"Arlene and the kid's on their way out?" Andy asked as Terry made to walk past him.

"Uh, yeah." Terry mumbled. "They're uh, headin' to Arlene's, cousin's... somethin'. I told her not to come back till she heard from someone so..."

Andy clapped him on the shoulder. "It was the right thing to do Terry, you know that." Terry nodded and headed into the school hall. Now wasn't a time for talking about things like that. "You ready for this, Sookie?" He asked, turning to her.

"No one's ever ready for this," she said carefully. "I feel like I'm gonna throw up."

"Well do it out here," Andy told her sternly. "Last thing them folks need is to see you lose your cookies. This is your show girl, make it good." He turned and followed Terry into the hall, leaving her alone with Sam.

"Shit... shit... Sam... I can't do this, I can't..." She leaned back against the car and started to hyperventilate until Sam took her firmly by the shoulders and shook her.

"Snap out of it Sookie! What happened to all that stuff you said this mornin'? Huh? 'Bout this bein' our town."

"I was still angry this mornin'! Now I'm jus' scared..." She looked up at him. "How do I tell everyone I've ever cared about that I want them to fight werewolves and that they're probably comin' cuz of me?"

"Exactly the same way you told us this mornin', cher." He touched her chin gently, "you made a pretty decent speech then, 'bout our home, about stanin' up for what's ours. This is the south, Sookie. Most of those people are decadents of the Glorious Dead! Show 'em the battle, Sook, they'll fight it."

"Ok... Ok..." She took a deep breath and touched the vial of blood that still hung around her neck under Sam's shirt. "Alright... let's go to war."

The school hall was packed absolutely full. Sookie didn't know exactly what Andy and the deputy's had told everyone, but it seemed like all the men (and the more gung-ho women) were inside while mums, sisters and children were out enjoying the sunshine on the grass. Sookie was struck on the way in by Shirley Mapley giving her a little wink as she painted a little boy's face with a superman logo. Behind her, other kid's were playing, or lined up to get their face done. It had turned into a mini carnival... Sookie steeled herself and walked up the stairs onto the little stage with Andy, Terry and Sam. Everyone went quiet.

"Y'all know me," she said after a long pause, "Y'all have known me since I was a little girl... Crazy Sookie Stackhouse." She looked around the room, hoping something profound would pop into her mouth, but it didn't seem to come. "I don't have to tell any of you what I can do, do I?" she asked of no one in particular, the slight rumble of ascent in the crowd prompted her to continue. "Some of y'all have been avoidin' me for years. I ain't never grudged you that... no one want's to be spied on, even if it aint my fault. Since the Vampires 'came out', thing's haven't been as calm around here as when we were all kids'."

The rumble of agreement was a little louder this time. "The world's changed, and there aint no changin' it back, not now. I hate that it's me up here... about to tell you some thing's that're gonna change everything again, but there's no one else, so here I am."

She took a deep breath and let it out explosively. "Somethin' bad is comin'. Somethin', I don't even know how to begin to explain... Here in Louisiana, the Vampire community has it's own leader. They call her a Queen, and she's meant to keep everythin' runnin smooth. Like all simple folks know, though, havin' a title like that don't always make you good at your job." The crowd tittered and Sookie kept going. "The Queen of Louisiana, turns out, in't a very strong woman... Things have gotten away from her and now, it's us, the people on Bon Temps, who are gonna have to deal with the consequences of that. Another vampire, the King of Mississippi, he's plannin' an invasion of our state." The crowd stilled.

"Now... our local vampires, they don' won' this anymore'n we do. It's only cause'o them that we know they're comin'." She didn't going into the fact that the only way to KNOW when they were coming, was to provoke them into it...

Sookie could feel the energy in the room, the barely contained power vibrating in the people she'd known all her life... "Tomorrow night, this King is going to send a small army of werewolves, drugged up and crazy, to take this state from the Queen and clear the way for him." Grumbling, both vocal and within their minds flowed over and around her, robbing her concentration for a moment. "We're not on our own!" She interrupted them loudly. "Every local Vampire will be here tomorrow night to help us... along with another nest, comin' in from Dallas. I know you don't have no cause to trust them, but they will die too if the invasion goes ahead." A humming silence again and Sookie prepared herself for the final blow. "You should know that... that part of the reason he's comin' here, is... well it's probably for me." Sam, Andy and Terry closed up behind her and she felt cushioned somewhat by their presence. "He wants to take me, use my gifts... force me to read people so he can control them..."

The crowd was grumbled audibly, with the split evenly fifty fifty between wanting to fight and wanting to simply turn her over and avoid the whole business. Sookie was surprised when Terry gently pulled her back with one arm and took her place in front.

"HEY!" He bellowed, and every eye turned to stare in astonishment. "I see what's happenin' down there. I see _exactly _what's goin' on." His voice lowered to deadly, cold tones that they couldn't help but strain to hear. "I see the people I know, the one's what fetched up here next to me. Next to Sookie. I see them getting' ready, plannin' the fight what's comin', an' I'm proud o' them... An' 'en I see people I aint never laid eyes on before." His eyes swept over the crowd, half of whom were standing straight, watching him with rapt attention, while the other half couldn't handle his gaze and stared intently at their shoes. "Who _are _y'all? You aint _my_ neighbours. Not the one's been huntin' with us, shared our food, our friendship an' our lives! Shame! No one _I_ know, here in this town, would turn one o' their own over to some despot bastard! You tuck your God damn tail 'tween yer legs and run if you wonna. All you prove is you never belonged here. Two days time the people of this town will have shown that bastard exactly what the south costs!"

Sookie was nearly bowled over by the noise. She gasped and leaned heavily on Sam's shoulder as she saw something with her mind she'd never thought possible. Almost the entire crowd thought and felt the exact same thing at the exact same time! The inarticulate roar Terry had drawn from their throat's echoed in her head and drowned out the tiny sparks of self preservation that flared here and there. "Oh my God..." she gasped softly, "their minds... Sam... their mind's are all the same!"

Terry turned and held his hand out to her, which she took, feeling somehow like he was beyond her to have done this to everyone. "You can get 'em organised now," he whispered to her and to her surprise he sounded completely normal! She looked up at him sharply and he just shrugged. "You hear enough speachin', you kinda get a feel for it. They're good folks Sookie... they jus' needed to remember."

"You're and amazing man Terry, Arlene's very lucky..."

Terry blushed and quickly moved behind her to hide it. Andy slapped him on the shoulder and Sam nodded in profound respect. He was thinking maybe Terry should get a raise.

"Now, Andy's got the school buses gased and ready. We wanna get all the kid's and older folks down to Shreveport where we'll have a safe place organised for them later on tonight. By tomorrow mornin' the only people in this town should be people fixin' to fight. Please, don't take a place on the buses unless you aint got no car or someone to drive. Sam's gonna be outside organisin' car poolin' for anyone interested, or anyone who can't get a lift out of town on their own an' wants one." She gestured to Sam somewhat redundantly, he was even better known in town she she was.

"I know no one's gonna wanna talk tactic's till their family's safe, so we're gonna get that done first!" There was a general murmur of agreement. "Once that's all sorted, Andy and Terry are gonna come down talk to y'all about how this is gonna work. After nightfall our vampire reinforcements should be arrivin' and they'll be bringin' everything we need. As I'm sure y'all know, Vampires and werewolves have problems with silver and some other stuff, but let's face it, ordinary folks don't usually have caches of silver bullets. Don't worry though, all that's bein' taken care of. No one's goin' into this unarmed."

"OK everybody," Sam clapped his hands for attention as he started down the stairs. "I'll be right outside this door and to the left. Please remember there are kid's outside and we don't want to start a panic. I know y'all are buzzin' right now, but please, we gotta keep some decorum till we make sure everyone that needs to can get out'a town. I also know some of you are concerned about your wives, not wantin' to leave and such. If you can stop by Jason Stackhouse for a chat, he's got an option ya'll might want to consider before you have a big whohaa with the wife. Alright, let's get movin' people."

Small town people are quick to organise once someone points them the right way. All the travel arrangements were handled within a few hours and as the sun was kissing the horizon, Bon Temps defenders gathered at the school again, this time without their children and such women and elderly as wouldn't be staying.

"That was a brilliant idea, for makin' the wives useful and keepin' 'em out of harms way, Jason." Andy said with a grin.

"I have been surrounded by damn stubborn women all mah life. Best you can hope for most times is damage control." Jason said sagely.

Andy nodded his agreement and went back to watching the people file in. Over in the corner, Sookie was playing with the vile of blood around her neck. She'd meant to get back to Shreveport before Eric woke up, she'd wanted to talk to him before he came but there hadn't been time. Would he go to Shreveport first and pick up their reinforcements, or would he come find her? She wished she could tell him to come see her first, that things would go better if he introduced himself alone instead of arriving with a small army of vampires at his back.

"What's going ta happen now, Sook?" Jason asked, walking up to her with big smears of oil on his singlet.

"I'm not sure. Eric should be awake by now, but I don't know if he'll come here first or if he'll go start moving the vampires. I wish I had a cell, or even just his number. We'll just have to keep goin' like we are until he gets here, one way or another." Jason was nodding his agreement.

"No worries, Sook. I got me like, fifty middle aged women, cookin' up my secret weapon. They'll be at it for hours yet but, we'll be ready by tomorrow night."

"Awesome... that was a great idea you know Jason."

"Thanks baby sister." He pulled her to him, smearing her with oil in the process. "Oh... sorry."

Sookie laughed, "It's not mine. I borrowed it from Sam this mornin'. I didn' have nothing clean and it probably wasn't safe for me to go home with the werewolves hangin' around. I'm assumin' they've been watchin' us here... might make 'em a little more careful when they come but... I doubt it."

As Sookie opened her mouth to reply, someone started screaming outside. The noise spread and soon there were dozens of voices all bordering on hysterical. Jason and Sookie ran outside to see Eric leaning casually against the flagpole, polishing his nails on his shirt.

"He flew!" Someone squealed.

"You great theatrical ass hole, you couldn't land out of sight and walk in?" Sookie demanded, pushing her way through the gaping crowd and thumping him as hard as she could in the chest. Eric hardly felt it of course, but the act seemed to put the crowd somewhat more at ease. "For God's sake. It's OK everyone, he's on our side." She said loudly.

"You didn't make it back," he said with a frown as he followed her inside.

"Hey, you try organising an entire town in one day. It's not like I been sittin' on my hands down here. We had to get the kid's and elderly organised to leave town, _you _are going to need to put them up somewhere in Shreveport until after tomorrow night by the way." She turned and poked him in the chest.

"I don't remember agreeing to this..." He said flatly.

Jason watched, deeply concerned, but Sookie didn't seem to be worried.

"I agreed for you. I save your ass, you protect my town. Protecting includes keeping them out of the rain..."

"How many," Eric said after a small pause.

"'Bout fifty families worth. Give or take."

Eric's eyes bulged slightly but he reached into his pocket for his phone. "Yes, directory assistance... yes, I need the number for the largest hotel in Shreveport. Yes. How many rooms? Yes. Thank you." He hung up and a moment later his phone buzzed as the number was SMSed to his phone. "One moment. Renting an entire hotel on one day's notice usually takes some strings... I'll be right back." He walked off into a corner and Jason watched him with wide eyes.

"Sookie... did that big scarey mother fucker just book every room in a hotel jus' cuz you told him too?" He asked, a little awed.

"Hmm? He can afford it."

"But... why's he doin' it? Just cuz you said?"

Sookie looked over her shoulder at Eric's back. He seemed to be having a very quiet but somewhat intense conversation with someone. She felt sorry for whoever it was, but at least everyone would have somewhere to sleep and it's not like the hotel wouldn't get paid. "He's not that bad. You just have to have him owe you a huge favour and know how to talk to him, that's all."

"Riiiight." Jason shook his head. "Sookie... you're fuckin' scary these days, you know that?"


	6. Chapter 6

Eric tucked his phone back into the pocket of his jeans and moved back to Sookie's side. "The Madison has fifty eight rooms. There may have to be some bed sharing, but they have been made aware of the inundation they are about to receive."

"Thank you." Sookie was directing people and looking at a map of the town centre.

"Speaking of bed sharing..." Eric's voice sounded close against his ear, and Sookie turned sharply, not because he seemed to be coming on to her, but because he sounded upset. "You're wearing another man's shirt..."

Sookie looked down at herself, "Oh, it's Sam's."

"I can smell that, what interests me is why," He let her step away, which surprised her, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought we had a rudimentary understanding..."

"Eric... now is a really bad time for you to play paranoid." She said sternly, "I didn't have anything else to wear, OK? I had clean shorts but no shirt. It was this, or nothin'!" She mimicked his posture and glared at him. "You gonna start out bein' a big A-hole every time you see me?"

Eric maintained his stony demeanour for a moment longer then dropped his arms and managed to look slightly guilty. "I am... sorry." He didn't move towards her though, just let his arms flop at his sides. Was it possible Eric Northman didn't know what to do next? "I suppose I am... what was it? A big insecure jerk?"

Sookie huffed and let her own arms drop. They stood, two full meters apart and neither was really sure what they were meant to do about that. "Now what?"

"I believe, traditionally, we kiss and make up." He looked at her through his eyelashes, chin tucked in to his chest and a small, boyish smile on his face.

"Eric... I got a whole town full of people I'm meant to be getting' ready for the battle of their lives and you're makin' 'come hither' eyes at me?" She said in exasperation.

"I could make come hither eyes at you in the middle of the apocalypse." he murmured, but he didn't close the distance between them. "I take it you want to maintain... distance, in front of these people?"

"I know you're over there being all touchy about that, but you're just gonna have to cut me some slack here, Eric!" She hissed, "In case you haven't noticed I'm not... I can't... Fuck." she kicked a trash can hard and then swore some more as the pain lanced through her foot and up her shin. "Damn it. I don't know what to do Eric! I don' know how I'm meant to handle... you and... and all this! Bill leavin', lyin' to me. I got a pack of werewolves on my ass and a vampire King want's my head in a jar! I... I'm so fucking lost..." She deflated almost to the point of collapse, and Eric was beside her, his arms around her before she even knew he moved.

"Sookie... I will not let him have you, no matter what happens," he pressed his face into her hair and held her against him tightly. "I will keep you safe."

She sobbed against his chest, the dam, having broken, couldn't be stopped. Everything flooded out all at once and Jason, who'd been watching from a distance, met Eric's eyes over his sister's head. He nodded once, Eric returned the gesture seriously and then Jason turned around and went back to getting ready. He'd given up trying to work out exactly what was going on in his sister's private life, but Eric held her when she needed it and he had to trust she knew what she was doing.

"I can't do this... I'm not strong enough..." she whimpered into Eric's shirt.

"Bull shit." Eric said firmly, though he still held her tightly against his chest. "You rescued a two thousand year old vampire from a church of fanatics. You have personally won the support of two Sheriffs of significant area's. Look at what you've done to these people," Eric looked around. "You are leading them. You no longer have the right to be weak, Sookie."

She looked up at him sharply. She'd been expecting comfort and soft words, maybe even a little smooching, but the harshness in his voice brought her up short.

"You need to have steel in your spine now, woman. I have led more men into battle than you can imagine... if these people see their leader break, _they_ will break." He took her face in his huge hands and held her eyes with his. "I would never have believed that you could do this..." he said quietly, "I underestimated you, and I will not do it again. Isabel will be here within the hour, everyone I trust from Shreveport is probably only fifteen minutes away."

Sookie nodded, her hands shaking.

"Sook? My secret weapon's ready, we're gonna head to main street and set up!" Jason called. He was stripped to the waist and covered in some kind of gunge.

"Jason wait! Some of the Vampire's should be arrivin' soon and I don't want you guys goin' on your own... secret weapon's no good if you don't get to set it up cuz you're dead. Load up the Ute's but wait till they get here, OK?"

"Oh, right... guess I got a bit excited."

Sookie looked at him wide eyed for a minute and then started laughing. "Oh Jason, I do love you."

Jason beamed at her with his big, dopey smile, "Well I love you too little sister. We'll load up, be ready when you're friends get here." He nodded to Eric, who returned it with an abstracted and confused expression.

"That is a truely simple human..." He said, though he was shaking his head and smiling tolerantly.

"Jason's just... yeah. Yeah he is, but he's strong, and he's fast, and he's loyal." She turned and looked up at him, somehow feeling stronger and more ready than she had all day. "No one can be everything."

"You seem you be doing just fine."

"I'm roller-coasterin' wildly from throwin' up in the corner in terror to barkin' orders and planin' fights and then back again. Been like this all day."

"I know... I can feel you, remember?" He didn't put his arms back around her, there were a lot of people around and even though he wanted them all to know she was with him, they couldn't be thinking about her as a girl for the next thirty six hours.

"You make that sound so dirty..." She breathed.

"Do not tease me, Sookie. My self control is not infinite, and watching you orchestrate this masterpiece is testing me as it is." He reached out and touched the leather strap that held the vial of his blood around her neck. "Do not forget you have this. Remember what it can do."

Sookie nodded and one hand rose to clutch at the vial through her shirt. Eric smiled slightly at the sight and then cleared his throat carefully. Sookie coughed too and took a step back. "OK... Alright. When your friend's get here, I want to get them circulating through the crowd." Eric looked at her, confused. "Well everyone out there is going to be a bit crazy once this starts and they'll be holding silver and steaks and all kinds of nasty things... I want them to know your faces as much as they can... let's avoid any accidents."

"I don't think that will be a problem, I have taken the liberty of ordering a uniform of sorts. Friendly vampires will be in red, with a white belt from left shoulder across their bodies to their right hip." When she stared at him in amazement he shrugged. "It's how we did it in the old days. Musket smoke makes seeing faces... problematic." He looked like he might give in and kiss her then, but he stopped and looked past her. "They are here."

A fleet of dark SUV's had pulled up along the road and a small army of ghostly, graceful vampires was emerging from them. The town's people had all stopped what they were doing to watch as Eric and Sookie made their way down the grass embankment to the road to meet them.

"Chow," Eric nodded and the large man nodded back.

"I have arranges for the magister to arrive tomorrow night. He's quite curious as to what the fuck we're all doing here." Chow rumbled. "I couldn't get him to let Pam go, but... she's holding up well."

Eric nodded. "She's a strong bitch, and the magister wont kill her on the off chance I manage to bring him something worth while. You remember Sookie?"

"I do. I've been told this is your show," Chow offered her his hand and when she took it he shook vigorously. "I've cleaned out every nest in this part of the state, but I don't think I have enough weaponry for all the humans."

"Isabel is coming in from Dallas, she'll have spare, and a bullet is enough to seriously slow a werewolf. If there is one thing hick towns do not lack, it's guns." Eric told him and gestured to the others. "Keep a tight grip on them. I do not want any incidents, no matter how innocent. Am I understood?"

"Yes Sheriff. We're all fed and ready to go... except the hoplites, they insisted on running. Shouldn't be too far behind though." Chow was grinning as Eric rubbed his temple with two fingers. "You can't deny they're worth having."

"Greeks..." Eric grumbled under his breath. "Make sure everyone understands that Sookie speaks with my voice for the next two days. No fuck ups."

"Understood. Ah... you gonna warn the humans? About the hoplites?"

"Jesus Christ..." Eric looked down at Sookie. "You're going to want to keep everyone very calm. They certainly wont attack, but I imagine having a fully armed phalanx appear in their midst might just drop a few from fright."

"What's a Phalanx?" Sookie asked and Chow laughed.

"A little square made of Greeks, with big sticks." The huge man said.

"Is that really scary?"

"It was devastating in its day." Eric told her. "Of course it's day was before the birth of Christ. Greeks," He spat, "Just can't let anything go."

"I brought your sword sir," Chow said with a shit eating grin. Eric's eyes brightened, "On the back seat."

Eric had the good grace to look slightly ashamed. "The less guns the better," he said defensively. "And beheading kills anything."

Chow just held up his hands and said nothing, while Sookie snickered into her hand as Eric took a massive long-sword from the back seat of the SUV and started strapping the complex arrangement of belts around his waist and thigh to keep it from bouncing around when he moved.

Sookie tried out her new command powers on the Vampires, asking them to mingle a little and make nice with the people, while picking out a few to go with Jason to help set up his special project. By the time that was all moving and she was scrambling back up the grass embankment towards Eric and Terry, a hush fell over everyone as a rumbling vibrated up through their feet.

"Hoplite's are here," Chow said, without looking up from polishing the hatchet in his lap.

From across the sports ground came the heavy, rhythmic march of feet. Eric shook his head, and they called him theatrical! They'd obviously slowed down so the humans could appreciate them in all their 'glory'. Eight line's of eight vampires, each carrying a fourteen foot long-pike held perfectly vertical at their sides. At some unknown signal they stopped in the precise centre of the field, the front three lines of pike's lowered, perfectly between their comrades to form bristle of pike-points before them, while the rear lines lowered their points to defend the flanks and rear. "HOAA!" They all said sharply.

"Show-offs," Eric grunted in irritation. "Will you get up here, tiny conquerors? You are embarrassing me!"

The phalanx showed no remorse what-so-ever. They raised their pikes and trotted forward in formation to halt before Eric and Sookie and salute sharply. "HOAA!"

"Sookie, meet the Greeks." He said flatly.

"You always were blind as a china-man, Viking!" Came a woman's voice from the heart of the phalanx, and Eric's eyes widened as a short but broad woman vaulted out of the formation, using her pike for leverage and landed before him, then jumped again, her legs wrapping round his waist, her arms around his neck, before she head-butted him soundly, smashing their foreheads together with a dreadful noise of cracking bone. "Hail, brother!"

"Still a psychotic midget, I see." His eyes sparkled in amusement however, and he took her weight with his arms. "What the hell are you doing with a troop of Macedonians?"

She laughed and shrugged. "I heard you were in trouble. Again. And they were a man down. Seems no one thought to make someone else to fill out the phalanx. I always told you they were special down there."

"You knew about this I presume?" Eric asked Chow.

"Bo convinced me you'd like the surprise... she'd very persuasive."

"Yes... I don't imagine that's changed either." He hefted her a little and threw her up in the air. Still holding onto the pike she used it to spin herself and land two feet away with a beaming smile in her pie-plate round face. "Sookie, may I present princess Bodicea, of the Icenii. My... sister, for lack of a better word."

Bo bowed deeply, her long, dark ponytail flopping forward over her shoulder. "_The_ Bodicea...?" Sookie hissed.

"She was one of my ancestors." Bo said proudly. "Though on occasion I have allowed people to believe otherwise." Eric was grinning at her, "Anyway, when Isabel told me what was going on, I had to come see. I'm surprised at you, Eric. Trying to start a war without me!"

"I was under the impression you were still in Australia..."

"Nice place, actually." She handed her pike back to another vampire in the front row of the phalanx and brushed down her red tunic and black pants. "When Godric sent me there I thought I'd find it over run with backward little people... would you believe they hardly notice us at all? I'm invited to at least one human party a week, as long as you bring your own drinks and know all the words to 'thunder struck', they really don't care what you are."

"You've given up your position there, then?" Eric asked, "Bo was sheriff of the entire continent." He said to Sookie.

"Oh, no. But to be perfectly honest it'll probably be months before they really notice no one's in charge. Winston is handling things while I'm gone."

Eric choked on that a little, "Winston...? Bo, he's... he's a human!"

Bo shrugged. "You seem to have found some capable one's here, America doesn't have the monopoly on them, you know." She held out her hand and Sookie took it. "Don't let him get away with any shit, darling. He just gets himself into trouble if you give him to much slack."


	7. Chapter 7

Between Isabel arriving and Sookie's cycle of cool collectedness to nauseated hysteria and back, it was a trial to get her to sleep. In the end, Isabel had ushered everyone else away, while Eric scooped her up and carried her into the hall where most of the human force was already curled up in whatever they could find that passed for bedding.

"There's too much to do, still," She protested as he lay her down at the back of the small stage with his folded jacket for a pillow. "What about the King, will they turn up on time? Is anyone watchin' for them?"

"Alcid has played his part well. The Werewolves are behaving as expected and members of the pack he trusts are keeping an eye on them. The humans are asleep, and I can take care of everything else." He stroked her hair gently and her eyes fluttered closed for a moment. "You will have to take care of these people until sunset, Sookie... you must be rested."

"Bill will come wont he...?" she asked quietly. "He'll be with the King."

"I imagine so," Eric conceded. "He will want to ensure that whatever deal it is he's made is adhered too. You would have me spare his life... would'nt you?"

She swallowed hard as she looked up at him. "If you never knew me, if I wasn't a part 'o this, would you kill him then?"

"Yes," Eric hissed. "I am his Sheriff, his loyalty should have been to me. To our Queen. He betrayed us."

"I know you want to kill him... I guess, by your laws, he even deserves it, but..." she reached up and touched his face, and Eric knew that in two nights time, one way or another, Bill Compton was probably still going to be alive. "I don' wanna look at you everyday and see the person who killed him..."

He couldn't help the tiny grin that ruined his otherwise cool expression. "Are you suggesting you'll see me everyday?"

"You didn' have to do all this, I know that." She said seriously, her fingertips still tracing the line of his jaw, for a moment making his eyes flutter closed as he turned his face into her touch. "How much less effort it would'a been just to blame Bill, or to regroup in Shreveport and let the King take Bon Temps... and me. I'm not stupid, Eric... I_ can _see what you're doin' for me."

"Then at least it's not for nothing," he leaned down and kissed her lips lightly and Sookie found herself wishing there was more time. "Don't feel like that..." he warned her. She blushed and rolled onto her side so she could press her face against his thigh.

"Will you always be like this?" she asked. "Considerate and kind? Or am I going to wake up when this is all over and you'll have some other poor bastard chained up in your basement?"

"I am what I am, Sookie. I do what needs to be done to maintain order...That is why _I_ am sheriff... because I can." He ran his fingers through her hair and watched as the strands slipped through his fingers. "I will make you a deal," he tilted her head back and waited for her eyes to open. "If you can find a method that works as well, then I will use it."

She blinked helplessly at him, "I..."

"I have been controlling men, and vampires, since I was fourteen years old. I do not expect you to have a strategy overnight...but in trying to find one that will work, perhaps you will be able to... understand me better."

When he emerged from the hall a few minutes later, having kissed her and told her to rest, Eric saw Bo waiting for him. With a resigned sigh, he followed her back into the shadows and away from the people... he had known this was coming and it was better to get it out of the way now.

"He left me a note," she said in a dangerously quiet voice without turning to face him. "Isabel sent it to me..." she spun angrily "he left me a _fucking_ note!" She flailed out with one arm and left a significant dent in a steel railing. "Damn him!"

Eric said nothing, but he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. The top of her head didn't make it anywhere near his chin, and as always before, she felt as though she were disappearing into his chest. "He would never have waited for you, you would have been able to stop him and he knew it."

"He's a selfish fucker," she hissed into his shirt, her tears effectively ruining it.

With a not inconsiderable amount of effort, Eric suppressed the urge to hit her, to rail at her for speaking ill of their maker. He hadn't even thought of her the night Godric died, and he was honest enough with himself to admit he was ashamed of that. "It doesn't matter now. We will be in battle together again tomorrow night," he looked down and she managed a smile for him.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Who?"

She smacked him in the chest and he half laughed, half coughed. "Alright, alright. Mercy. I..." He looked at her ruefully. "She argues with me..."

"I can see that." She laughed and gave him a squeeze before letting go, "I like her, _and_ I think it's not good for you to be alone so much."

"Pam..."

"Is an angry lesbian, who likes to use you as her life sized barbie doll. Don't get me wrong, I like Pam too, but you wont get what you need from her." Bo walked past him back towards the lights. "I hope she gives you hell, brother."

"I don't think there's any escaping that..."

During the night, Eric had thought to send for Jessica, though the plan was to keep her as far from the fighting as possible to avoid having Bill do anything stupid. He'd woken Sookie at dawn, gently shaking her shoulder, his face heading towards the unhealthy pallor of vampires during the day. She'd kissed his cheek and hurried outside as the hall had filled with corpses.

"Sam say's they're 'bout an hour out," Terry told her breathlessly, having double-timed it up the grassy embankment to where she stood. "He's been roamin' out there all night. You ride in with us?"

"Yeah, Jason called, he's all set so... I was hopin' they'd come later, you know? That we wouldn't have to hold 'em off all day..."

"Yeah, me too, but then that's why they're here now, ain't it? Just to make things hard." He patted her shoulder and gestured to Andy's cop car. "C'mon, General. Time to light 'er up."

Everything was ready, she told herself repeatedly. Her violently trembling hand played with the vial of blood around her neck... She'd sort all that crap out somehow. Isabel had assured her that she'd made enough noise that Flanagan had to be on her way, especially considering all the little tid bits she'd slipped the media. Chow, similarly, was convinced the magister would arrive in fairly short order once the sun was down. You can't move that many vampires quietly, if nothing else he'd probably be of the opinion Eric was planning a coup of some sort.

The only wild card now was Bill... what the fuck was he doing? Why had he left? Betrayed them... damn him, he was born in Bon Temps too! He should have been here with them, what could possibly have convinced him to leave? To leave her? She shook her head and wrapped her fingers around the vial. It didn't matter any more, even the most innocent explanation showed him to not be who she thought he was...

"Sookie!" Jason called from the flatbed of a Ute parked beside the bank. "Mornin'!"

"You sleep at all?" She called back.

"'Bout three hours," he admitted. "Don' worry 'bout me. Everyone else all tucked up safe?"

"Yeah, looks like it. Sam got his family out, they ran screamin' past the wolves 'bout some bitch readin' their minds." She shrugged, "no goin' back now. That was sorta the last piece... he knows I'm here."

"Well we're all set! I got the back end o' this street pretty well blocked off, had to set a few cars on fire, but we tried jus' to use insured ones." He was grinning as he jumped down, "an' I had the crew crakin' open some little runnels in the road... we're gonna set this bitch on fire!"

Sookie sighed as she looked at all the damage, the fight hadn't even started yet and it already looked like it'd take the rest of their lives to get the town back the way it was. "Nothin' for it, I guess. Keep the gun's covered up... don't wanna bring 'em out till we have too. Any luck we can give 'em enough to think about that they'll back up and wait for night when their vampire back-up can come in."

"Yeah, not knowin' we got our own dead guys!" Jason looked over her shoulder and swore, "Damn it! Guys!" He yelled at a group of young men who were moving the hoplite's sarissa in bundles to the prearranged hiding spots. "Dudes! You damage those thing's we gonna have a inter-species incident! Easy with the stick's man!" He was shaking his head when he looked back at his sister, who was smiling at him. "Can't leave some folks alone for a minute!"

She hugged him tight, "just be careful, OK?"

"You too..." Jason held her tightly, blinking to keep his tears in check. "I love you."

"I love you too, Jason. You know what to do..." she hated that he was the one to do it, but it was his plan and he wouldn't let anyone else take the responsibility from him.

Jason nodded seriously and nodded towards the blow torch sitting beside the bundle of rifles and side arms in the flatbed. "I know... you can count on me Sookie."

"I know I can..." She sniffed a little and then forced herself to stand up straighter. "I gotta check on everyone else..."

"At'ta girl, Sook. Oh, Mrs Arteman said she was getting' sick from the smell, so she went into her restaurant along about 1am and started cookin', said it took her mind off stuff. There's a ton of food in there. Might wonna let everyone know."

"Thanks, that's a good idea."

Inside the police station, Andy, Terry and Sam were staring down at the crudely drawn map of the town. They all looked up as she came in and wordlessly made room for her around the table. Sookie felt their acceptance and affection like a bizarre cross between a warm blanket and a slap in the face. How could they still care about her right now?

"I think we've covered everythin' cher." Sam said, putting an arm around her shoulder. "I hate to say it, but Jason might just have saved all our bacon... how'd he come up with that idea anyway?"

"He accidentally set his car on fire once, made a big impression on him." Sookie said with a laugh.

"Jesus," Andy grunted, "our fuckin' saviour..."

"He don't mean nothin' by it, Sookie," Terry told her quietly. "He just aint had a drink this mornin'. Said he wants to be clear headed."

"Well I sure as hell don't," she huffed back but accepted the coffee Sam handed her. "Thanks... I can't believe we're doin' this..."

"Don't tell them that, cher." Sam advised. "They're getting' all their balls from you right now." He nodded towards the door, through which they could see people making the last minute preparations and scarfing down Mrs Ateman's greasy Italian food. "You done good, Sookie. Unbelievably good for two days notice!"

"I jus..."

She never got to tell them that she hated the idea of her brother knowing what it feels like to kill someone, having no idea of course that he already did. She never got to say how scared she was... "Head's up mother fuckers!" They heard Jason scream from down the street and the unmistakable sound of twelve, sixty gallon barrels of gasoline and washing powder exploding and flinging sticky, burning gunk all over the south end of the street.

The four of them hurried out to see the damage. Jason was still crowing from the top of his truck's cab, the blow torch he'd used to light the fuse still lit in his hand. Over his voice and the roar of the flames, everyone could hear the yelping and howling of burnt, confused and angry wolves. "Run on back to yer master, you mangy muts!" He screamed at them through the flames.

"Jason, get the hell down! They decide to start usin' guns, you're the only one they can see!" Sookie yelled at him.

Flipping the roaring fire the bird one last time, Jason jumped down and hurried over to her. "It worked, huh?"

"Yeah... how come you put washin' up powder in it?"

"Oh, Isabel told me too. See, apparently washin' powder got a lot 'a oxygen in it. Who knew air cleaned clothes? Anyway, makes the fire hotter, aaaand makes the oil into a jelly so's it sticks to stuff. She said she'd seen it used on tanks before, worked real good." Jason was looking at the fire proudly.

"How long will it last?" Sookie asked.

"We'll need to roll some more barrel's down 'er every couple a hours. Don' worry though Sook, we been at it all night, I got shit loads o' this crap!" He looked down at her proudly. "I do good?"

"Yeah, Jason," She put her arms around his waist and held on tightly for a while, before finally letting go. "Keep an eye on them, and make sure everyone's keepin' their eyes open. They can't give up that easy, sure as shit they'll try'n get in somewhere else."

Jason nodded, "No worries. Other street's are already blocked off and there are backup barrels all over the damn place. It's... eleven now. So like, seven hours to go." He patted her on the shoulder. "No worries."

To Sookie's surprise, it turned out werewolves just weren't very smart, or at least they weren't when they were full of vampire blood and half crazed. They howled and ran at the flames a few times then, at about one o'clock they started yelling demands. 'Hand over the telepath' and various deviations on the theme. Jason, Hoyt and Terry calmly rolled out more barrels and waited until the wolves started trying to get forward through the dying flames.

"This is almost too easy," Jason commented, putting his foot up on one of the barrels and kicked it off to roll down the street. Terry and Hoyt did likewise and six impressive explosions followed, with more howling and yelping from the wolves on the other side.

"I seen it in Iraq..." Terry said sadly as he leaned back against a lamp post and listened to the wolves screaming in pain and anger. "Fanatics is all the same... Religion or drugs or power, it's all poison, an' 'em stupid muts'll throw 'emselves at us till they're all dead. Once that madness has you... fuckin' miracle if you can shake it."

Hoyt had un-shed tears blurring his vision. "I feel dirty..." he mumbled.

"Y'are..." Terry said softly. "But them what's clean are cowards... kept 'emselves clean by abandonin' their home, their history, their family... Love makes you dirty, boy. You'll do anythin' for it, an' all you can hope for in tha end is to be able ta look yourself in tha eye." He leaned forward and put his hand on Hoyt's shoulder. "You c'n cry later... I'll join you... right now, you gotta check the barrels an' go check in wi' Sookie."

Jason watched Hoyt nod and straighten his shoulders before trotting off up the street towards the police station where Sookie, Sam and Andy were still coordinating everything. "He gonna be OK, you think?"

"Yeah...jus' need's a distraction. He'll do better'n we did..." Jason looked at Terry in confusion, "When I got back, y'all thought I was mad... everyone knows Hoyt's just gentle."

"I'm sorry man," Jason mimicked Terry's earlier gesture, putting his hand on the older man's shoulder.

"Maybe I was...maybe I still am... but I know how't do this. So's least I can make myself useful."

The process repeated itself pretty closely at three thirty... more demands, more swearing and Jason managed to send even more were wolves limping away. "I can keep this up all day, fuckers!"

"Day's all you got, bi-ped!" Someone snarled from beyond the renewed flames.

Jason grinned and had to stomp down hard on the urge to spill the beans about their back-up. All he wanted was to call back that they had two area's worth of vampires just waiting to swoop in when the sun went down _and_ that a load of other higher-ups were coming to witness this whole cluster-fuck! He contented himself with swearing at them some more and rolling down another barrel for good measure.

"How're we doin?" Sookie asked from behind him.

"AH! Damn it Sook, don't sneak up on a guy when he's bein' incendiary!" He huffed and gave her a cheeky, boyish look. "Well, it's comin' up on four, an so far the worst 'ats happened was when they threw some vodka bottles through the fire... Cracked Hoyt right in the head, but he's gonna be fine. They just keep goin' on that they got back-up comin', like that's meant to scare us."

"It _does_ scare us, Jason. 'Member?"

"Oh... right... yeah."

"It's OK," She looked around at everyone, their spirits still seemed pretty high. "They've pretty well proved they aren't smart enough to work out a way through... we were watchin' 'em from the roof of the bank before, I think they're all stoned on V, or somethin'. It's like they can't think right."

"Isabel said "give me a stupid enemy every time"," Jason said with a grin, "I kinda like that."

"You mean you kinda like her..."

"Well... yeah, I guess I kinda do... is that nuts?" He asked with a confused expression.

"Probably, but I got a kiss from Eric Northman when I woke up this morning..." she threw out as off-handed as she could to try to make it sound normal.

"At least you seem to have calmed him down some..." Jason looked at her carefully, "You sure you know what you're doin' Sook?"

"No, not really. It's hard to keep hatin' someone who makes a habit of savin' your life, though... even if he is a big A-hole sometimes."

"What about vampire Bill?"

"He's out there somewhere... Eric said he's sure Bill'll have an explanation, he don't think it'll be a good one but... in his own mind I think Bill thinks he's doin' the right thing. He's probably tryin' to protect me in his way..."

"Well then why aint he here? If he want's ta protect ya he should be here with us!" Jason said emphatically.

"I know..."

"I aint sayin' I like Eric, he's been a big fat jerk-face a bunch o' times but... he's here. I been a pretty big dick at times too... That's all I'm sayin'."


	8. Chapter 8

Jason's secret weapon kept the town centre pretty well lit, even as the sun started to sink and cast long shadows over the landscape. The wolves had stopped attacking all together at about six. Apparently they had decided instead to destroy anything they could get their hands on outside the perimeter. Through the flames, and from some of the rooftops, the people of Bon Temps could see crazy, naked people tearing their town apart.

"You enjoy it while you can, you crazy fuckin' freaks," Jason grumbled to himself, resisting the urge to get one of the guns out and start picking them off one by one. It'd just set them off, and they'd got what they wanted from the day, which was to survive until the vampires could join them.

"Any minute now..." Sookie breathed, looking up at the sky.

"Why're you lookin' up there? We'll have to put the car's out and let 'em in at the back, wont we?" Andy asked.

"Eric can fly. He'll get here first." She told him, not taking her eyes from the sky.

"... He can fly...? I picked a hell of a time to quit drinkin'."

"You say that every time you quit, why don't you jus' stop quittin' and start bein' responsible like everyone else?" She said, her eyes still distant.

"Ha, tween you an' me, I live through this crap, I'm goin' straigh to Sam's an' drinkin' myself into unconsciousness."

She couldn't begrudge him that, though she didn't get the chance to say so. The sun was well and truly gone, and a blond streak hurtled through the sky, circled the perimeter once and then landed in front of her, scooping her into his arms and kissing her hungrily. Sookie squeaked, but clung to him anyway, even with Andy coughing somewhat less than politely into his hand.

"Eric, _Eric_!" she shoved at his shoulders at last trying to get some space to breathe. "Good morning."

"Isabel is fetching a fire truck to put the car fire's out and bring everyone in through the back, then we'll light it up again." He was grinning at her, completely unrepentant. "How long until that flattens out enough that they'll start getting through?" He asked, gesturing to the inferno blocking the road.

"It doesn't have much left in it now, we do have more barrels though," Jason told him.

"Don't bother. The King doesn't appear to be that close, we should thin out those wolves now before their reinforcements arrive and the process is still relatively simple."

"No worries."

Isabel doused the car fires with some sort of white chemical foam and the vampires vaulted easily over the burnt out husks. Once they were through, the people who'd bee waiting ignited a second line of cars further back with Molotov cocktails made out of the same oil and powder mix.

"Stuck in here now," Isabel commented under her breath as she watched the hoplites organise themselves into a phalanx with Bo's place empty. The Icenii princess was heading for Eric instead, a huge and incredibly old iron battle axe resting over her shoulders casually.

"You don't actually plan on hitting anyone with that, do you?" Eric asked her with wide eyes.

"It wont survive much longer as it is, two thousand years is old for a crude axe like this... but I think he would have wanted to be here to see this. See what you've done, " She looked around at tray's of true blood being handed around by humans. At vampires assisting their human companions to organise their weapons. "He'd be so proud of you, brother... and so am I."

Eric said nothing, but Sookie looked a little teared up. "Stay close," Bo advised her gently. "We will protect you. Phalanx! Shift it children, time to kill some dogs!"

The wolves, alerted by the movement, tried a run at the fire again and this time the first wave encountered no resistance. Some fifty odd came hurtling through the flames, howling in triumph, only to run at top speed into a forest of pike-points. Sookie covered her mouth with her hand and gasped at all the blood and the spectacle of howling wolves shifting into howling men impaled on fourteen foot lengths of wood as thick as her arm.

"Get it under control Sookie." Eric told her firmly, his hand finding her and squeezing it hard. "This is just the beginning."

"Sookie! Get back here, girl!" Terry yelled from the sidelines, waving his arms at her. "They got this bit, we're back up!"

"He's right. Go. This will be handled quickly, we will need you when the others arrive." Eric pushed her gently in Terry's direction and drew his sword. Bo moved in beside him, hefting the axe to feel its comforting weight. "Just like Malta."

"Just like Malta..." She was grinning and, with a tarzan-style scream she launched herself forward at the next wave of wolves, spinning hard to the right before she hit them so that the axe was at full speed and drove smoothly through the first one and broke most of the bones in the others. "NEXT!" She screamed.

Sookie skidded to a halt beside Terry, taking cover behind a line of trash cans. "Do we have the camera's runnin'? She asked breathlessly.

"Sure do. Two rooftops and every street security camera we could find... Bank, post office and the jewellery store." He ticked off the list.

"That's great! No matter what happens now, the King is screwed." She peeked over the top of the bins and gnawed on her bottom lip. "They seem to be doin' OK..."

"Always seems 'at way, right up 'till it don't. Don't think about it too much, jus' try to roll as it comes," he told her sagely.

Sookie nodded. Down among the carnage she could clearly see Eric making huge sweeps with his sword, hardly pausing between one wolf and the next. What turned her stomach most was that the twitching bodies collecting around him weren't wolf bodies... as they hit the ground they changed back into men! Some were obviously dead, the deepest secrets of their bodies slit wide open by his blade, but others lay screaming their fury up at him, demanding his blood even as they bled out themselves.

"Madness," she heard Terry hiss beside her, and she had to agree. Beyond Eric, dancing in what was left of the flames, Bo spun the battle axe like a demon. She never stopped moving, the axe turning great arcs in the air, even when she was looking for the next wolf to cleave, the axe never paused.

"Is she mad too, Terry?" Sookie asked, horrified even as she was impressed.

"Maybe," he said softly, "she needs to keep movin' see... took her two minutes to get that power in the motion... she stops, she'll have to start all over again."

Sookie didn't really understand that, and maybe it was just as well. She saw across the street and down, closer to the fighting, Jason hauling silver pointed throwing spears out of a barrel and handing them to Isabel, who took careful aim and skewered a wolf with every cast.

"What the **FUCK** is going on here?" Everything seemed to slow down and then grind to a painful stop, as all combatants looked back to see the King of Mississippi standing on top of his Limo with Lorenna and Bill, who looked horrified and ill.

From where she crouched, Sookie could see one of the wolves, presumably reporting to the king, who apparently had expected to arrive to a subdued town with 'his' telepath nicely restrained. Bill seemed to be doing some arguing of his own and then, with Lorenna in hot pursuit, he leapt down from the car and zapped towards them at vampiric speed. Sookie, who had hurried forward towards Eric gasped, her eyes wide as Lorenna's hands reached for her throat. The vampire's face contorted in confusion and she glanced to the left in irritation... Eric had lunged sideways and slid his sword smoothly through her side, up through her body, it's bloody tip reappearing just under her opposite shoulder.

"Iron is barely an irritation," she hissed at him, only to scream as Eric used his free hand to pull a carved length of wood from his belt and drove it through her chest.

Sookie squealed and ducked behind him, still managing to end up with bits of vampire on her clothes. Bill stood, blinking stupidly for a moment, unsure exactly what to think or feel. Finally he pulled himself together and made to reach for Sookie, breathing her name like a prayer, but Eric kept himself between them.

"Traitor," the Viking hissed.

"Shit... shit shit shit," Sookie gasped, as the King gestured behind him and a small army of vampires in black op's gear came into view. She hit Eric's shoulder a few times to get his attention.

"Phalanx to the front, triple wide! Block this street off!" Eric ordered slipping back and hauling Bo by the back of her leather vest with him. Bill shook his head and hurried forward too, trying to catch Sookie's eye. "Sookie, get the gunmen ready."

"What... what gunmen? You can't win this!" Bill grabbed Sookie's shoulders as the enemy forces crashed headlong into the phalanx. "Listen to that, it's madness! I can protect you, but you must stop this and come with me now!"

"Let me go! I'm not going anywhere with you! You _left me_!"

"Sookie I had to! Please try to understand! I have negotiated a deal for your life, but the king will not keep his word if I do not keep mine. Louisiana will fall under the control of Russell Edgington." He told her sternly, his heart in his eyes.

"Like hell it will!" Terry was behind her, a shotgun over his shoulder and a number of hand guns strapped to him in various holsters.

"Stay out of this!"  
>"Don't you talk to him like that!" Sookie snapped, shoving at him angrily. "This is our home and he can't have it! And he <em>can't <em>have me!"

"Sookie... he will let you stay with me, I can protect you, but you must stop this foolishness." Bill make to grab her again only to be thrown backwards as Bo jumped and, using Terry's shoulders for support, kicked him squarely in the chest with both feet. When she landed she had her axe over her head ready to strike.

"Laying hands on the General during an engagement, is treason, friend,"She said in a light, almost friendly tone. Glancing up she saw the King's forces engage with the phalanx and from behind her, the human marksmen were starting to fire. "We do not have time for this." She hissed. "I do not like traitors, I do not like cowards, and I do not like men who do not know their place." Keeping the axe high she hauled back a foot and kicked him so hard in the crotch he was shoved back a good three feet, yowling in pain. "Get him back out of the way," She said to Terry, who was blinking stupidly at her. "Now, soldier!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Sookie!" Bill gasped.

"Just run..." She told him sadly as Eric offered her the handle of a long bladed knife which he'd pulled form his belt. She took it, feeling the weight in her hands, "You were never really here with me anyway, were you...?"

Bill had twin red tracks on his face as Terry hauled him back. Eric looked down at Sookie, "Hold it a little looser... that's right. Slash from the hip, up across the torso to the shoulder. Do not stab..." She nodded, and held the knife low in her sweaty hand. "Stay close to me..."

"I will,"

Staying close proved easier said than done. Eric's reach with his long sword was unbelievable and Sookie found herself constantly ducking and weaving around him, trying to keep out of his way. Off to her right, Bo and a vampire she didn't recognise had taken positions in the phalanx, plugging a hole she supposed was made by dead defenders... Bo had lost the Axe somewhere and instead had snapped two silver tipped ends off the spare sarissa and was wielding them to devastating effect.

"SOOKIE!" She heard Jason yell, and when she glanced back he was stripped to the waist and sweating profusely, pushing a wheelbarrow full of Molotov cocktails.

Sookie glanced up at Eric who nodded, "go," and then she was running back to Jason.

The blowtorch that had been used to set off the initial explosions was lit and tied tightly to one of the arms of the wheel barrow. Jason grabbed a bottle, dipped the rag that hung from it into the flame and threw it over the heads of the hoplites and into the enemy army. Sookie followed his example as best she could, and though her range wasn't as good, she could get them far enough out that they were making a difference.

"I dunno if this is gunna work, Sook," Jason gasped, out of breath, though he continued to lob his burning bottles at an impressive rate. "You'd asked me this mornin' I'da said I had enough o' this shit to last forever, but we're startin' to run pretty damn low."

"Fuck," she hissed as the line surged forward. "I can't throw that far. You'll have to do it."

Bill had recovered enough to move forward, past the riflemen on cars, to where Jason and Sookie stood by their dwindling supply of incendiaries. His eyes were sad, his face still streaked with blood, but he reached out and took a bottle from the pile, aimed carefully and threw it as hard as he could, hitting Edgington's limo and lighting up like an Autumn bonfire.

"Compton! You fool! Now I will kill you and take her anyway!" The King screamed, looking in horror at his burning car.

Bill looked at Sookie sadly and she reached out and patted his arm. "Thank you," she breathed, and Bill took the opportunity to step in closer.

Things might have ended very differently had Sookie not heard a snarly, vicious voice in her head so clearly that it drowned out everything else. _Think you're a big fuckin' vampire sheriff, I'mma bite you're fuckin' throat out!_ She scrambled for the vial at her throat as Bill looked on confused. She spun and screamed "**ERIC GET DOWN**!"

The Viking didn't even look around, he heard her voice and half a heartbeat later he was flat to the concrete as a werewolf sailed through the space that used to be occupied by his head and shoulders. Bill watched in horror, realising too late what it was Sookie was drinking as she threw the empty vial aside and ran.

Eric rolled smoothly to the side and came up with his sword held ready, but the wolf had changed into a howling, naked man and had closed the distance between them. One powerful shoulder shoved Eric's sword aside and the two began to wrestle madly. "Sook!" Jason had half a lance and he threw it to her as she ran, her newly improved reflexes allowing her to catch it without stopping. Bill could only look on in wonder as she copied a move she'd seen Bo perform earlier. Just before she reached them, she spun, hard, bringing the silver tipped spear around and connecting with the naked man's side sending him spinning to the ground. "That is _mine_!" She screamed. Eric plucked the spear from her hands, careful of its dangerous point, and drove it through the stunned man's body.

When he turned back to her she was trembling violently, her hands clenched at her sides and her eyes wide. He took two quick steps to close the distance between then and grabbed the back of her neck, kissing her hungrily. "Yours," he hissed against her lips, and Sookie's knees nearly gave out at the sound of it. How could he sound like that? Her mind flashed in V-propelled madness through all the times she could remember saying she was Bill's. The shy, submissiveness in the way she'd said it, the guilty little turn of her face and the way she couldn't meet anyone's eyes as the words left her lips.

Eric didn't sound submissive at all! Jesus, he sounded strong and proud and powerful, as though to him there was nothing weak at all about that word, about the surrender it implied or the rules it set.

"Seriously, Brother!" Bo's breathless voice interrupt them, "You're doing that _now_? For God's sake, kill now, fuck later, OK?" She'd already sent two or three would-be attackers spinning painfully to the pavement, defending their moment of stupid mid-battle passion.

Sookie could see and hear everything, it was like all her life she'd needed glasses and a hearing aid and _this_ was how she was meant to experience the world! She pulled Eric's knife from her belt and yanked its twin from the sheath at the small of Eric's back and screamed her defiance at no one and everyone. The whole world that'd always thought she was weird or odd or ownable.

"I _can_ see why you like her though," Bo had managed to recover her axe from the spine of a werewolf at some point, though the head was looking somewhat the worse for wear. She heaved her shoulders up and down, sucking in massive breaths and hissing them out along with deep, rumbling words that Sookie couldn't understand.

Eric lent down and whispered to her, "She's reciting the names of her war gods... for strength," he told her.

Sookie wished _she_ had war gods to call on.

"**HOLD!**" Up on the roof of the jewellers, the magister lent on his cane with Nan Flanagan standing next to him, her hands set on her hips and her face twisted in anger and consternation. "What the fuck! Russell Edgington, you will explain yourself. **NOW**!" She bellowed.

"Oh it's about fuckin' time." Jason gasped, dropping his arm and pulling the burning rag out of the bottle he was holing and tossing it aside. Then Isabel was beside him, one finger firmly on his lips. She made a curt nod towards the bank, where the other friendly vampires were carefully herding the humans. "What's goin' on?" He asked quietly, moving in the direction she pointed.

"The magister will have brought his own forces... to dispel the rabble. Flanagan might have as well... we want all the humans safely out of harms way. They do not know you..." She smiled at him gently, "we do not want any mistakes..."

With everyone safely inside the bank or pressed in tight to the courtyard, the remaining friendly vampires closed ranks around them. The move wasn't lost on Flanagan, nor was the fact that there was a news helicopter flying over the area in great sweeps, no doubt with HD camera's. The magister tried to assert his authority, but Flanagan was having none of it. This could either be the incident that saved them, or the one that pulled them under and she wasn't leaving things to an angry little bald man with control issues.

"Take Russell Edgington into custody and remove his teeth," Flanagan said flatly.

"You can't do that!" Edgington bellowed.

"You're on candid camera, you moron. You've moved against a human population, without provocation and you've destroyed an entire town! I am about to make a phone call, and when that phone call is done, I imagine my instructions will be to let you watch the sunrise!" With no lag at all, she was standing in front of Eric, an exasperated look on her face. "And as for you... explain yourself."

Eric opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted from behind. "The Sheriff of area five has established a close relationship with the humans of my kingdom," Sophie was dressed in white linen with airy, stainless steel chain mail over it which looked completely useless. "When it became apparent that Russell was not only providing blood to his werewolves, but as a narcotic to the population at large, I instructed Eric to make enquiries." Her face was calm, cool... there was no hint at all that her entire existence now hinged on Eric backing her... "It was then that the magister, no doubt being manipulated by Russell, began trying to prove Eric's involvement. I believe this invasion was a last resort to protect himself..."

Nan Flanagan had a raised eyebrow and she glanced at Eric, who ducked his head in acknowledgement, his mind spinning a mile a minute. He could turn on her, true, but he wasn't next in line to take the throne, no matter how impressive this little spectacle had been. Disagree and he could end up with a monarch he couldn't deal with, but if he let Sophie have the glory, he ensured his position was unassailable and that he could keep her under control with the threat of relieving the truth.

"You're really letting her take credit for this?" Flanagan asked flatly, her eyes killing off any protest.

"She is my Queen," Eric said carefully. "I respectfully ask at this time that you enquire into the safety of my child... Pam. The magister was holding her as collateral to ensure my cooperation."

Nan snapped her fingers and a lackey vampire appeared at her side. "Fetch Pamela from whatever hole the magister stuck her in. Feed her and ensure her safe return to fangtasia... Also, let the magister know that we will be having a discussion about the appropriateness of taking hostages from our own community simply because he can't do his job efficiently..." Nan looked at the vampires, guarding the bank. "What's happening here?"

"We knew you would have forces of your own, who might not be fully aware of the situation," Bo said from behind her and Nan turned, wide eyed, "it was agreed that should you arrive, the humans would retreat to the bank and we would protect them from any... unfortunate accidents which might leave this situation without witnesses..."

"What're you doing here?" Flanagan demanded.

"I have no official position higher than Sheriff, I'm simply here to help my brother," She smiled, leaning casually against an unbroken sarissa. "Of course... unofficially, it may be of great interest to some, living in my area, exactly what happened here and how it was handled."

"Understood. You two," she gestured to Eric and Sookie, "I want you both cleaned up and presentable first thing tomorrow night. You'll be being interviewed for every network I can get my hands on. We have to put a lid on this before it blows up in our faces."

"You might be interested to know that the security camera's outside the bank, post office and jewellery store have been recording for the last twenty four hours..." Bo said smugly. "You might also be interested in providing a bit of a clean up... as a gesture of gratitude for the heroism of this little town."

Nan's eyes were flaring but she nodded curtly. "The bodies will be dealt with by sunrise. If you'll excuse me, I need to torture Russell Edgington."

Over at the bank, what was left of the phalanx were in the process of pairing up, looping their sarissa together with the white belts of their uniforms, and fashioning makeshift litters for the injured and the dead. Of the original sixty three, only forty odd remained and Terry, Jason, Andy and Sam, hurried to help them.

"Doctor's already settin' up in the surgery... most folks actually look OK but... we lost a couple..." Jason said softly, pausing in front of Sookie, Hoyt was lying on the litter with an impressive gash across his chest, but it wasn't deep. "We gotta get movin'... Sam said everyone aughtta head over to the bar, what can. Folk's gotta unwind."

"Yeah..." Sookie reached up and touched Hoyt's face gently, "You hang in there, right?"

"Mmmm," he managed through clenched teeth.

A small group of vampires had gathered around Bo and were talking softly. In the end she nodded and they hurried away towards to surgery. Bo put an arm around Sookie's shoulder, "Anyone that needs it will be offered... alternative healing." She said delicately. "One time only, and only a few drops... but it should be enough to ensure we don't lose anyone else."

"Thank you,"

"Is that entirely wise," Eric asked carefully, "considering what got us into this situation in the first place."

Bo laughed, "You forget, Viking... people tend to like me a lot more than they like you." She winked at Sookie, "Also I'm scarier than you are."


	9. Chapter 9

A lot of people didn't make it to the bar. Some stayed at the surgery with the injured, other's had crashed out, still more had gotten straight into their cars and headed to Shreveport to help ferry back the families and see their loved ones before dawn. Nan and the magister were gone, their respective goon squads were either cleaning or holding the masses of North American media at bay. Sam fussed around behind the bar, Eric and Isabel had assured him that the tab would be covered by the nests. No one could be expected to remember their wallets tonight.

Bill was sitting at one end of the bar. To say that he was being shunned wouldn't be fair, but he hadn't been there, and the others all had, and the camaraderie was a physical thing that bound them all together, and didn't include him. Someone punched him hard in the back of the shoulder, nearly sending his true blood flying. He turned in irritation and found Bo, she'd found time to change out of her ruined tunic and was wearing a dark purple dress that touched the floor and fell away from her arms in massive bell sleeves. Over her shoulder was a heavy black canvas bag and she gave him a smile that might almost have been sympathetic.

"Suck it up, cup cake." She said, "you're going to live a long time, and this will not be the last night someone rips it out and stomps on it. Learn. Be better."

Bill rattled that around in his head for a long time, but couldn't find anything comforting in it. Across the room, Bo gently put the bag down on the table in front of Eric. He glanced up at her and then opened it sadly. Inside, the great iron head of Godric's axe lay, along with the haft, shattered into three smaller pieces. "So you'll remember what all this cost," she said simply, then patted his shoulder and turned away.

Sookie reached out and covered Eric's hand with her own. She was still tingling and a little high, but for some reason it didn't seem to make her as loo-loo as it did everyone else.

"I'm sorry, Eric..."

"It isn't him," The Viking said softly, though the fingers of his free hand traced over the iron gently. "It's just a tool... a crude one at that. But... Godric cared for it very much."

"Do you think there's any chance Godric wouldn't have given this axe, to save your life?"

Eric smiled and closed the bag gently before tucking it away under the table. "How do you do that?" He asked, turning to face her. "He would have said something similar..."

"He was very wise... and he loved you very much." She bit her bottom lip and plucked up the courage to look him in the eye, "People with stuff in common tend to think alike."

His chest rumbled deeply as he leaned in to capture her mouth, his fingers easing into her hair, massaging her scalp, he seemed to really like doing that. She'd never thought of it as being a particularly erotic thing to do... of course somehow when it was Eric Northman doing it, it seemed totally inappropriate to do in a bar! Some low, thrumming music came out through the speakers and Sookie groaned against Eric's mouth. "Christ, who is it this time?" She shook her head and looked up at him apologetically, "This song on Karaoke is always death."

_Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell  
>Jimmy Rogers on the Victrola up high <em>

Sookie blinked and clambered up to kneel on the seat and look over the back of the booth. At the machine, Bo stood with the mic cord wrapped around her forearm, her long brown hair free but for the thin warriors brains which kept it back from her face. As she sang, her hips moved and her chest heaved as though she gave all her breath to the song and kept none for herself.

_Mamma's dancin' with baby on her shoulder_

_the sun is settin' like molasses in the sky_

Everyone cheered, and humans and vampires headed for the dance floor. Sookie looked at Eric in astonishment, but he just shrugged. "She likes the attention... and she knows how to work a crowd. If you give her unrestricted access to that, that thing, she'll keep these hicks here for days." Sookie giggled and leaned back against him.

_Black velvet and that little boy's smile_

_black velvet in that slow southern style_

_a new religion that'll bring ya all to your knees_

_Black velvet if you please_

Beer glasses where being banged on tables, feet tapped and inevitably, lips kissed until at last the bar opened up with a hundred people all singing the chorus. The affect the beat was having on everyone was painfully noticeable and Sookie felt it, would have even if she couldn't hear it. Everyone who could pair off, did, and Sookie found herself drawing little circles on Eric's arm with her fingertip.

"You're playing with fire, lover..." He rumbled at her.

"I wanna go home..." she mumbled, only half aware of the implication of her words, but half was enough. "I jus' wanna sleep in my own bed, one night, without somethin' goin' wrong."

"I'll fly you," He said, grabbing the bag from under the table and offering her his hand to help her out.

"Everyone! It looks like the masterminds of the battle of Bon Temps are leaving," Bo called into the mic. "An appropriate southern send off, if you would?"

Everyone roared, stomped their feet, cat called and generally make a raucous. Sookie blushed and hid a little behind Eric who, completely un-phased, saluted his sister with a grin. "Don't stay up to early."

"Yes daddy," She laughed. "Now, request's are welcomed, I can do anything this machine can!" Another cheer went up and the lovers slipped out unmolested.

Eric landed softly and let her walk up the steps to her front door by herself. She pushed the door open and then stepped aside for him to enter. "You got the blood out of the rug," Eric noticed.

"And didn' it half take some effort!", she giggled softly, remembering Jason's questions that morning. "Eric, is Santa real?"

"What? No, not that I'm aware of." He looked at her curiously, "though I believe Godric had taken to gifting orphanages at Christmas towards the end... He thought no one noticed."

"Am I still high?" She asked suddenly.

"It is possible," Eric said, following her into the living room. "Does it matter?"

"I kinda jus' wanted to see if you'd say so..." She looked up at him, eyes round and saucers. "I don't know what to do now..."

"Traditionally..."

"Will you stop saying that!" She huffed, stomping her foot, which Eric found painfully endearing. "Please. Just... just stop joking about my life... about my feelings. Tell me somethin' true!"

"I dreamed of you," He said, meeting her eyes. "The night before I saved you in Jackson." He leaned against the wall, his shoulders hunched in slightly and his hands shoved in his pockets. "I'd come to see you. You let me in, without reservation... You said Bill hadn't been who you were looking for, and then you touched me. You weren't afraid at all. You said you could smell my memories, you knew things about me no living person could..." He looked up at her somewhat ruefully, all she could do was stare at him open mouthed. "You could see all my secrets, and I liked it..." He pushed off the wall and moved towards her slowly, "That is what I want. For you to know all my secrets..."

Sookie had tears in her eyes when he put his hands on her shoulders, let them slip down her arms then pulled them back, his cool caress making her shiver. "What do you want, Sookie?" He asked, his face dangerously close to hers, robbing her of thought.

"I..." Her bottom lip quivered pitiably, she was overwrought and strung out and everything always moved so fast! Why couldn't things go slowly, like they used to in a tiny little town in the middle of a back water. "I want you to not treat me like I'm the prize in your stupid competition with Bill. I want you not to keep people locked up in your basement! I want you to be like this, like you are sometimes when there isn't anyone else around, only I want you to be like that _all _the time! I want you..." She coughed a little and choked on her own emotion. "God help me, I want you..."

His hands were back at her neck, his fingertips cool and tickling and sweet merciful lord what had she just said, what would _he_ say? Fuck, she was so stupid... "Then take me," he breathed against her lips, "and I will try to give you what you want."

She whimpered and darted forward, kissing him desperately, grasping at his jacket and clumsily trying to get it off. He rolled his shoulders back and the offending garment fell away, Sookie moaned at being presented with the smooth, marble skin of his shoulders and pushed at them, hard. Eric let himself be shoved back onto the couch, then held his arms up when she growled at him so she could haul his singlet off over his head. As she sank down, straddling his lap, his fingers dove into her hair again and she wondered if there would ever be a point in doing anything with it ever again?

His hips rolled up and she could feel him through their jeans. "Eric," she moaned against his neck, pressing her cheek against it so she could nip at his skin with her blunt little teeth.

"Tease," He purred, his hands slipping down her back lightly before coming to rest on her hips, encouraging hers to roll in time, grinding them together. "You're magnificent..." Sookie hid her face in his shoulder to hide her blush and shook her head, but Eric would have none of it. He leaned back and gently turned her face to look at him. "You still wont believe it?" She asked softly, "You have just saved everyone you love, you averted a war, you have probably done more for vampire/human relations in two days than Nan Flanagan has in two years. You are one of the most valuable humans in the world."

"I didn't really _do_ anythin'..." she said quietly, "the plan was mostly Jason and the organizin' was mostly Terry,"

"Horse shit. Without you to focus him, your brother would have driven in, guns blazing, and gotten himself killed, achieving nothing. From what I've seen, that soldier wasn't exactly operating on a full clip before you, either. Why can't you accept that you led these people?"

"I... I'm just a waitress." She stammered, only to look shocked when Eric growled and hit his head against the back of the couch.

"You have been feeding everyone that line to protect yourself for so long, you can't think to say anything else!" He growled. "Serving beer to red-necks at a bar is _hardly_ the limit of what you do! You have hidden behind this mask of mediocrity your entire life because you were the most outlandish thing those simpletons had ever seen." Eric's fangs descended and he stared at her intently. "A telepath they have known since childhood is nothing compared to what they have seen now. You're not the scariest monster in the yard any more, not by a long shot. Stop hiding! From them and from me,"

More than anything she wanted to argue with him, slap him, tell him to get the hell out of her house. He didn't know anything about her and he had no right to talk to her that way! Instead, unable to stop herself, she looked tired and ashamed, "I don't know how..."

Eric's fangs went away and he cupped her cheek, smiling when she turned her face into hit hand. "Just stop trying," he said with a small smirk, mirroring her earlier words.

Winston was a wildly, almost aggressively effeminate man with spiked hair that had been bleached from dark brown to caramel, fluorescent orange sunglasses, and a wardrobe direct from Skank's R Us boutique. He walked with the hip-swaying confidence that such a tiny man can only have with a pair of un-dead bodyguards packing glocks.

He flopped down with a sigh in front of his computer and opened Skype to record a message.

"Bo, you need to come home. Now." He said seriously to the camera at the top of his computer screen. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something else and then changed his mind. "I need you back here sister, like, yesterday. We've got a massive micheva, and I don't even know where to start."

.

Bo watched the recording with a concerned frown. She'd bunked down for the day in the back of the bar which Sam had kindly light proofed for her once it became obvious she wasn't going to be able to get away from the Karaoke machine until the sickness took her. Having woken refreshed and bored, with everyone busy with their own business, she'd borrowed Sam's computer to check up on things. Her eyes widened at Winston's use of the code word and instantly reached for her cell phone.

It rang twice and then she heard his voice, uncharacteristically jittery on the end of the line. "Bo? Thank God, you have _got_ to come home!"

"What's going on? Is he alright?"

"He's fine, he's not the problem! It's the fucking Tong. I had Jedda go down to China Town last night, they were trying to start up the damn protection racket again, probably 'cause they knew you were gone. They're using shifters! Jedda was beaten something sadistic and then riddled with silver. Get your ass home, right now!"

"Mother fucker," She hissed, slamming her hand down on the desk and making it shake dangerously. "Alright, alright, I'll be on the first available flight. Move him, just to be safe. Once Jedda's up and moving get her to contact Lern, and don't take no for an answer. Call the prime minister and..."

"That's done already..."

"What did he say?" She asked.

"Umm... it's not a he any more. Politics is a little fucked here right now, no one's really sure what happened."

"Oh Jesus, not that redhead..."

"I thought you'd like her, she's Welsh you know."

"She's an idealistic idiot. Fine, fine, what did _she_ say?"

"That she'd got enough problems of her own and she'd really like us to fix this... she wasn't that polite, got a bit of a potty mouth on her once the camera's stop rolling. Long thing come short, she doesn't want to admit it's a crime thing, she wants it to be a vampire thing and that way when it blows all to hell she can blame us. And by us I mean you."

Bo snarled and looked for something to break, not finding anything she was sure Sam wouldn't mind her hitting, she started swearing instead. "Help cut crime rates, good PR, very very useful – first sign of trouble... God damn it! If it were possible to back-peddle up your own ass that woman would have disappeared by now!"

"Have your hissy on the plane!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I'm going, I'm going. Don't do anything else until I get back, alright? And for fuck's sake don't go anywhere without the bullyboys. I don't want to have to destroy south east asia because the Tong killed my little brother."

"Aww, baby, the things you say. It's enough to make a faggot straighten out,"

"Shut your mouth," she laughed down the line and took a deep breath. "Alright. Big pity party later, dealing with shit now. I'll see you as soon as I can. Love you."

"Love you to, Boss."

Dial tone.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Note: To avoid a never ending story situation - this is the end of the 'To Belong to You' line. It continues in 'My Father's Secrets', the first chapter of which is here: **

**.net/s/6162092/1/bMy_b_bFather_bs_bSecrets_b**

**Hope to see everyone over there - but things go totally AU from here (wildly, WILDLY AU, so feel free to stop here if that's not your up of tea)**


End file.
